Kering and EssilorLuxottica among suitors for eyewear maker Marcolin

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Kering and EssilorLuxottica are among the suitors for Marcolin, the Italian manufacturer of Tom Ford’s popular eyewear line, according to people briefed on the matter.

The Veneto-based company, whose private equity owners are seeking a valuation as high as €1.3bn, has held preliminary talks in recent weeks with groups including rival Safilo as well as the Franco-Italian eyewear group and French luxury conglomerate, the people said. US-based Marchon has also expressed an interest, according to one person involved in the talks.

However, the €1.3bn asking price has proved a sticking point between the company, in which PAI Partners owns a 83 per cent stake, and its potential acquirers, according to multiple people close to the talks.

The Paris-based private equity group, which first invested in family-owned Marcolin in 2012, has hired Goldman Sachs as advisers.

PAI, Marcolin, Kering, EssilorLuxottica and Safilo declined to comment. Goldman and Marchon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Marcolin, which is based in the north-eastern town of Longarone at the heart of Italy’s eyeglasses manufacturing district, secured a perpetual licensing agreement to produce Tom Ford’s eyewear for €250mn last year. The Tom Ford trademark is currently owned by New York-based Estée Lauder and its fashion line is run by the Ermenegildo Zegna Group.

The eyewear group also has agreements with brands such as Pucci, Zegna and Max&Co, and also recently signed a licensing deal with luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin.

Bankers and analysts say the lucrative Tom Ford licensing agreement is attractive for potential suitors although it does not justify paying upwards of €1bn for a group that has complex industrial operations and would be hard to integrate.    

Kering, which has a growing eyewear division, EssilorLuxottica, the world’s…