July 19 (Reuters) - Italian luxury fashion group Ermenegildo Zegna has agreed to go public by combining with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the United States, giving the business an enterprise value of $3.2 billion, the Financial Times said on Monday.
The family-owned fashion brand will raise $880 million by combining with a SPAC launched by European private equity group Investindustrial and chaired by former UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti, the report said.
Under the terms of the deal, Zegna will sell a portion of their holdings and retain 62% of the combined company, which is being given an equity value of $2.5 billion, FT added.
Zegna will merge with the New York-listed entity Investindustrial Acquisition Corp.
The investment in the Italian fashion brand will give Investindustrial an 11% stake in the company, FT said.
"We could have remained independent for another 100 years, but the moment is appropriate and the world has changed a lot and luxury has become very challenging," Chief Executive Officer Gildo Zegna told the FT.
Investindustrial Acquisition did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.