SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian shoemaker Arezzo Industria e Comercio SA on Friday announced its first acquisition outside the South American country, agreeing to buy Italy’s Paris Texas as it continues to push for an internationalization.
Shares in the company rose more than 3% after the news, making Arezzo one of the top gainers on Brazil’s Bovespa stock index, as analysts saw the deal a “small positive” for now but a signal of additional growth ahead.
The company headed by designer Alexandre Birman said it would initially buy 65% of Paris Texas’ capital stock for a total 25 million euros ($26.53 million), with an option to reach 100% ownership in the future.
The move marks yet another acquisition by Arezzo, which has been growing through M&A deals in recent years, including those to purchase Brazilian brands Reserva, Carol Bassi, Sunset, HG and Calcados Vicenza.
The company said in a securities filing that its first acquisition outside Brazil would accelerate its internationalization process, dubbing it an “important step” in its strategy of developing its global luxury footwear platform.
Analysts at JPMorgan said the deal meant Arezzo was starting to position itself as a potential large global footwear company, also highlighting some potential synergies to be captured on distribution and manufacturing structure.
Expanding outside Latin America’s largest economy is a longtime goal of Arezzo, which in the mid-2010s revealed it would stride deeper into the United States market.
Credit Suisse analysts dubbed the Paris Texas news a “small positive,” but noted Arezzo’s first international M&A operation would also strengthen its U.S. operations.
($1 = 0.9424 euros)
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan)
