The value of 100% of the Italian fashion house Gianni Versace, a minority stake of which is up for sale, is at least €850 million ($1.2 billion) including debt, the Financial Times newspaper has calculated .

According to the publication, the main contender for the purchase of 20% of the Versace house is the Italian state investment fund Fondo Strategico Italiano, headed by former Merrill Lynch top manager Maurizio Tamagnini. Potential buyers also include Investcorp, a Bahraini company and former owner of Gucci, the Blackstone fund and the French group Ardian.

The head of the Versace board of directors, Santo Versace, said at the end of October that the Versace family hopes to make a final decision by the end of 2013.

Initially, the Financial Times wrote that €850 million was the cost of 20% of Gianni Versace put up for sale (the error was later corrected in a note on the publication’s website, and a warning about the correction was written below the text). Based on the initial estimate, the entire fashion house would be worth €4.25 billion ($5.76 billion). American Forbes, citing initial data, estimated that this deal would allow the company's main shareholder, Gianni Versace's niece Allegra, to join the list of billionaires. At the same time, the magazine, citing Howard Feller, a partner at the MMG consulting firm specializing in fashion, gave other estimates. According to Feller's calculations, 20% of Versace could be worth €250 million, and the entire brand could be worth €1.25 billion ($1.7 billion). In this case, after the sale of 20% of the shares of the fashion house, Allegra Versace’s fortune will be $680 million, Forbes writes.

Santo and Donatella Versace, brother and sister of fashion house founder Gianni Vercace, own stakes of 30% and 20%, respectively. Donatella's daughter Allegra Versace owns 50% of the company. Today, Gianni Versace remains one of the last Italian luxury brands remaining under the control of one family. In mid-September, Donatella Versace stated in an interview that they were ready to sell a minority stake to an outside investor. According to media reports, we are talking about a package of 20-30%.

Fashion house Versace valued at $1.2 billion