HyperLoop555

Michael Kors is going high-end. The handbag maker is acquiring Gianni Versace for $2.1 billion, including debt, providing Kors a launching pad into the exclusive high-end European luxury market. Following the close of the acquisition, Michael Kors is changing its name to Capri Holdings Limited, inspired by an "iconic, glamorous and luxury destination" island, the company said on Tuesday. The deal marks one of the first times an American company has cracked the code of super high-end luxury fashion, typically controlled by LVMH, the owner of Guerlain and Givenchy, and Kering, the owner of Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent. Michael Kors had already dipped its toes in European fashion, last year buying shoe brand Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion. As part of the deal, Donatella Versace, who has helped run the company since her brother Gianni was murdered in 1997, will stay on to oversee the label. That retention will be crucial to Kors as it looks to validate itself to other ...