Post date: May 23, 2011 1:57:18 PM
The upmarket British shoemaker and retailer Jimmy Choo has been bought by luxury goods group Labelux from TowerBrook Capital Partners.
UK-CHOO SHOES -They're worn by the rich and famous and now British retailer Jimmy Choo has a new owner.
The luxury goods group Labelux - whose other investments include Bally shoes - has bought the upmarket shoemaker from TowerBrook Capital Partners.
The deal is reportedly worth 500 million pounds - that's more than 800 million dollars.It's thought tens of millions will go to Jimmy Choo's co-founder - a former Vogue editor Tamara Mellon - who will stay on as the company's Chief Creative Officer.
She reportedly invested 150,000 pounds in the Malaysian cobbler's east London store 15 years ago.
He sold his interest in 2001 and six years later TowerBrook Capital Partners paid 185 million pounds for the company.
Jimmy Choo is now a global brand - last year it reported net sales of 150 million pounds and sales so far this year are up at least 10 percent.
Sonia Legg, Reuters.