The Independents explores $1 billion-plus stake sale as cracks deepen across the global luxury market
The Independents, a luxury marketing collective, has engaged in discussions with its investors about selling a stake in the business for over $1 billion, despite the downturn in the high-end market.
As FT reports, the Paris-based group, which counts Céline, LVMH, Saint Laurent and Cartier as clients, has appointed US investment bank LionTree to review its options, according to three people close to the situation.
This could include the sale of a stake in the company, they said, although no decision had been taken about the size of any equity sale.
“The Independents are exploring avenues to bring additional investors into the company,” said a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Two of the people familiar with The Independents, where revenues reportedly totalled £600mn last year, said investors had been sounded out for their interest in a majority stake valued at more than $1bn.
The company operates about 20 creative agencies such as Italian brand-building firm Karla Otto and events and design group K2. It has about 1,200 employees working in offices from London and Los Angeles to Hong Kong and Dubai.
The Independents and LionTree declined to comment.
The company is owned by its co-founders including Isabelle Chouvet, alongside French media tycoon Stéphane Courbit’s Banijay Group and private equity firm TowerBrook.
Banijay has an option to convert its minority holding into control of the business, according to the people familiar with the matter. Banijay has until June to decide whether to take up this option, one said.
The talks also involve RedBird IMI, the investment group that merged its All3Media TV business with Paris-based Banijay Entertainment this year, the people added. Banijay and RedBird IMI declined to comment.
People familiar with the talks said the sale process had been complicated by the steep challenges facing the luxury market.
Upmarket fashion labels have suffered sharp falls in their valuations due to the impact of the Iran war on key Middle East markets and slowing Chinese demand.
LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group, last week blamed the conflict for its flatlining performance in the first quarter of 2026, with like-for-like sales up just 1 per cent compared with a year ago.
Courbit and TowerBrook led a $400mn investment round for The Independents in 2023, during a post-pandemic boom for the luxury market, to accelerate its development and international expansion.
That fundraising allowed a buyout of private equity group Cathay Capital, which acquired its stake when The Independents was founded in 2017.
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