DLA Piper has advised Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International Limited and its subsidiaries (Fosun), on the acquisition of a majority stake in French luxury couture house Jeanne Lanvin SAS (Lanvin). Founded in 1889, Lanvin is France’s oldest fashion house in continuous operation.

Fosun is the largest privately owned conglomerate in China. It acquired Club Med in 2017 and had created Fosun Fashion Group to manage its portfolio of fashion assets including St John Knits, Caruso, Follie Follie and Tom Tailor. Fosun Fashion Group also invests in other global flagship brands to leverage on the rapidly growing Chinese appetite for high fashion labels. Fosun's other businesses include insurance, industrial operations, investment and asset management.

The DLA Piper team was led by Corporate partners Sheng Wu (Hong Kong), Paul Chen (San Francisco) and Laurence Masseran (Paris). They were assisted by Paris-based Corporate legal director Cécile Szymansk and associate Laurent Asquin. Restructuring partner Pierre-Alain Bouhenic (Paris) assisted by counsel Arnaud Moussatoff and associate Nicolas Crocq also advised on the deal. Paris-based partner Jérôme Halphen and associate Vanessa Li advised on the Employment aspects of the transaction.