Artémis, the private investment vehicle of the billionaire Pinault family, agreed to sell its majority stake in Giambattista Valli back to the eponymous Italian designer, according to a report by WWD.
The sale marks the end of an eight year ownership chapter that began as a minority investment and culminated in a quietly run auction process.
The French holding company, which assumed control of the Paris-based couture house in 2021 after first investing in 2017, had mandated Rothschild & Co to run a sale process in recent months.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
WWD reported that a joint statement described the agreement as “reached in a spirit of mutual respect and responsibility” and as marking “the beginning of a new chapter” for the 59-year-old designer.
For Artémis, the exit closes a chapter that had grown increasingly difficult. The house cancelled its haute couture show in January and skipped its autumn 2026 ready-to-wear presentation during Paris Fashion Week in March.
At the time of the couture cancellation, Artémis told WWD that the maison was “currently engaged in a thorough reflection on the organization of its activities in order to ensure their long-term sustainability.” In the months that followed, the company and sample-sale operator Arlettie ran a series of “friends and family” clearance events to shift legacy stock, an unusual move for a brand still nominally positioned at the top of the luxury pyramid.
François-Henri Pinault, chairman of Artémis, said that his office had been “delighted to support Mr. Giambattista Valli and to stand behind such a singular and demanding creative vision.” He added: “After years of an inspiring collaboration, a new chapter is now opening in this entrepreneurial adventure.”
The Pinault holding company, founded in 1992 and best known as the controlling shareholder of Kering, has also been seeking a buyer for its stake in German sportswear group Puma, and its wider book spans Christie’s, talent agency CAA, French cruise operator Ponant, Courrèges, Stade Rennais F.C., and publications including Le Point and Point de Vue.
Artémis’s operational push at Giambattista Valli had centred on professionalising the business. In 2020, the holding company and the designer brought in Charlotte Werner, a former Louis Vuitton leather goods executive, as chief executive to scale the brand’s geographic footprint, digital presence, and product mix. Werner left after three years and was never replaced, leaving the house without a top operator during a period of sharp contraction across aspirational luxury.
Artémis is exiting just as luxury investors broadly are repricing the asset class. LVMH has agreed to sell Marc Jacobs to brand management group WHP Global, and a wider rotation of designer labels between strategic owners, brand aggregators, and founders is under way.
For Valli, the deal restores full ownership of a house he launched in Paris in 2005. “This agreement now enables me to fully regain control of my brand and to pursue its development with enthusiasm and energy,” he said in a statement shared with WWD. “I would like to thank Artémis for its support and commitment to the maison throughout all these years.”
Originally published here.