The number of mergers and acquisitions in the international fashion and luxury sector rose about 30 per cent this year. The number of mergers and acquisitions in international fashion and luxury sector rose to 96 in 2016, compared to 75 in 2015, and 89 in 2014, says a research by the Pambianco Strategie di Impresa agency. A mix of factors influenced the increase in activity. On one hand, there are accounts of companies, which are improving. On the other, big groups are dealing with substantial liquidity. Investing in companies with high potential, which can grow significantly with new capital injections and strategies, is an excellent way to use capital and to obtain advantageous returns in a moment in which the stock market is subject to volatility and alternative financial instruments, such as bonds, are not profitable.

As for mergers and acquisitions, the market is dominated by holdings and private equity funds, categories that all together carried out about 40 per cent of the deals in 2016. The second acquirer in terms of number of deals was private equity funds. They were involved in 18 mergers and acquisitions in 2016, which was nevertheless down 28 per cent compared to the year before.

If, in past years, holdings tended to be more interested in former suppliers or firms that could complete the verticalization of the industry to increase productivity, and at the same time, boost control of production, today they are setting their sights on firms further down the supply chain.