
Alibaba’s co-founder, Joe Tsai backed investment firm Blue Pool Capital, has acquired a 12 per cent stake in the Italian luxury sneaker maker brand Golden Goose.
The luxury sneaker brand Golden Goose is popularly known for its US $ 600-a-pair shoes and the investment comes after Golden Goose abruptly postponed its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the Milan stock exchange last year.
Golden Goose stated that the Hong Kong based investment firm holds expertise in the sports, entertainment, and consumer sectors, along with its deep understanding of the Asia-Pacific market, will be instrumental in the brand’s further expansion. Financial details of the same remain undisclosed.
Blue Pool manages the assets of Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba and co-founder of the e-commerce giant with Jack Ma, as well as assets for other families. As part of the deal, Oliver Weisberg, CEO of Blue Pool Capital, will join Golden Goose’s board of directors.
Permira, a private equity firm, will continue to hold a majority stake in Golden Goose.
Golden Goose had initially planned to go public in June of last year but cited market volatility and political uncertainty in Europe as the reasons for postponing the IPO.