Patrizio Bertelli, the Chairman of Prada, last year said up to 30% of the business, worth $5.7 billion, could be listed on Milanese bourse.

The revenue raised would facilitate a new round of acquisitions and the consolidation of existing businesses, Bertelli said. Some would also go towards paying off debt incurred by the company’s acquisitions of the last two years, including the purchase of the English shoemaker, Church’s.