Roberto Cavalli Global Restructuring: Marquee Brands and The Level Group Lead the Strategic Acquisition of the Italian Luxury Brand

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Marquee Brands, the U.S.-based company specializing in the acquisition, management, and development of a diversified portfolio of global consumer lifestyle brands, together with The Level Group (TLG), acting as principal operating partner, have entered into a binding agreement to acquire control of the Roberto Cavalli brand as part of a complex strategic reorganization of the group. The transaction was concluded with DAMAC Group, the Dubai-based multinational conglomerate founded by entrepreneur Hussain Sajwani and active in the management of luxury assets, which has agreed to transfer the majority of the Italian brand.

Closing is expected by the beginning of the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions precedent.

Legal Advisors

Greenberg Traurig represented Marquee Brands, with a team comprising New York partners Ejim Peter Achi (Co-Chair of the Global Corporate Practice and the Private Equity Practice) and Alexander Mandel, along with associates Roberto Cortinas, Sophie Korn, and Abdulrasheed Ijaodola. The Milan office contributed partner Giuseppe Bulgarini and his team on all employment law matters, as well as partner Luigi Fontanesi and senior associate Camilla di Fonzo on intellectual property matters.

Russo De Rosa Associati represented The Level Group for all Italian and European aspects of the transaction, with a team led by partners Alessandro Manico and Alessandro Manias, supported by senior associate Antonio Lopetuso, associate Giulia Petraroia, and trainee Margherita Magro Malosso, and on the tax side by senior associate Stefano Gentile, associate Mimmo Lombardi, and junior associate Simone Brigliadori.

Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP represented The Level Group on all U.S. legal aspects of the transaction, with a team led by partner Aldo Panunzio and associate Camille Burg. Dentons handled employment law matters for The Level Group, with a team led by partner Luca De Menech.

Gianni & Origoni acted for DAMAC Group, working alongside DAMAC’s in-house counsel Ippolito Banfi. Partner Raimondo Premonte led the team, supported by counsel Alessandro Meringolo and associate Vito Quaglietta on corporate and M&A matters. Counsel Carmen Adele Pisani and Riccardo Vaccaro handled the tax workstream. On United Arab Emirates law matters, Gianni & Origoni’s Abu Dhabi office acted through counsel Pietro Vitale and Marco Mennella, together with associate Ludovico Rossi. Chiomenti handled all employment law aspects of the transaction for DAMAC Group and Roberto Cavalli, with a team led by partner Emanuele Barberis and supported by senior associate Alessandro Pace.