Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Mayhoola are set to takeover French fashion house Balmain after months of negotiation, Reuters reports.
The French financial daily Les Echos reports that the Qataris offered €485m (£372m) for Balmain, higher than sale estimates of between €300m-€400m.
“After completing this transaction Mayhoola for Investments will hold 100% of Balmain’s capital,” said the merger and acquisitions company Bucephale Finance.
Former Balmain chief executive Alain Hivelin, who died in 2014, turned the nearly-bankrupt fashion house into one of France's biggest success stories by hiring gifted designer Christophe Decarnin, a former artistic director at Paco Rabanne in 2006 and Olivier Rousteing in 2012. Under the two designers, Balmain attracted a celebrity following from the likes of Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gigi Hadid.
Balmain was founded in 1945 by designer Pierre Balmain and is one of France's last remaining major independent fashion labels along with Lanvin and Hermes.
Neither Balmain nor Mayhoola have commented on the deal.
