Exclusive-Armani approached potential buyers over stake sale, sources say

By Amy-Jo Crowley, Dominique Patton and Mathieu Rosemain LONDON (Reuters) -Armani representatives have made informal approaches to some potential buyers for a minority stake in the renowned Italian fashion group, three sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters, effectively starting a de-facto auction for a slice of one of the world's best-known fashion empires weeks after the designer's death.  L'Oreal, is among those that have been approached, two of the people said. The talks are early stage, however, one of the people said, adding that any progress could take months.  Private equity bidders so far have not been solicited as potential buyers, one of the sources and a fourth one said. Rothschild is expected to advise the company on a transaction, those two people said. The group has a link to the advisory firm through Irving Bellotti, a Rothschild partner who sits on the board of the Armani foundation, according to the bank's website. Reuters could not determine who had done the outreach on behalf of the sellers of the company. The four sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Armani Group and Rothschild declined to comment. L'Oreal, which holds a licensing agreement with the Armani group until 2050, did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London and Dominique Patton and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris and Lisa Jucca in Milan. Additional reporting by Elisa Anzolin. Editing by Anousha Sakoui)

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