Viva China Acquires Testoni Footwear Brand

Viva China, a venture company controlled by Chinese Olympic gold medalist Li Ning and the largest shareholder of his namesake sportswear brand, is to acquire the loss-making Italian shoemaker Amedeo Testoni for HK$81.57 million (US$10.48 million).

The group has agreed to purchase the entire issued share capital of Sitoy AT Holdings Co. Ltd., which owns Amedeo Testoni and its diffusion line i29, for HK$50 million, with a post-closing payment of around €3.5 million.

In 2018, the brand, which was founded in 1929 in Bologna and formerly named A.Testoni, was bought by Sitoy International Ltd., a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of handbags and travel goods as well as a brand distributor in Greater China for Amedeo Testoni, Cole Haan, Tuscan’s and Fashion & Joy. The group had an ambitious retail expansion plan for Amedeo Testoni, but it was never fulfilled.

Amedeo Testoni reported a loss of €5.8 million with an unaudited net asset value at €13.6 million for the year ending June 2021. The brand operates 36 stores across Italy, China, Japan and South Korea.

Having acquired struggling high street brand Bossini and British shoemaker Clarks via an investment fund with LionRock Capital, Viva China said acquiring the brand at a discount provides a good investment opportunity.