MILAN — Marquee Brands is eyeing Roberto Cavalli and is in pole position to take control of the fashion brand, according to market sources.

WWD reported last year that Cavalli’s owner Hussain Sajwani was shifting his attention from fashion to a project that is aiming to support the growing demand for data storage and processing related to AI and other technologies. He is spearheading a new major venture to develop data centers around the world, with investments of more than $20 billion through his company Edgnex.

A representative for Marquee could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Last June, the Cavalli company issued a statement that said it was “working to find the best path to growth, which includes exploring strategic partnerships. This process will be carried out with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.”

Cavalli is controlled by Sajwani’s Auriel Investment SA, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based Damac Properties. For this reason, sources believe that the deal has not been signed yet, slowed down by the war in the Middle East.

The global property development company, which Sajwani established in 2002, is one of the largest in the region, with real estate projects in Dubai; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Doha; Amman, Jordan; Beirut; Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Miami; Toronto, and London. Sajwani built the Trump-branded golf course in Dubai that opened in February 2017.

Sajwani, who is the chairman of Damac, bought Cavalli in 2019, after the fashion company had filed a restructuring plan with the Court of Milan. He was especially interested in Cavalli at the time because its strategic investment arm Dico International was working on a five-star hotel tower in Dubai and other hotels and residential projects have been in the pipeline, as well as Cavalli Cafés ventures. The latter plan, however, has fizzled over the years.

In 2022, Sajwani also acquired the jeweler De Grisogono.

Prior to Auriel Investment, Italian private equity fund Clessidra Sgr took control of Cavalli in 2015 through its Varenne vehicle, which at the time included L-GAM and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd.

Brand management firm Marquee has made its mark by focusing on owning just the brands and working with broad networks of partners for everything else. It was established by Neuberger Berman in 2014, works with something like 300 licensees and has experience converting brands to a licensing model. Heath Golden is CEO of Marquee, which owns Martha Stewart, Laura Ashley, Stance, America’s Test Kitchen and Isotoner, among others.

Designer Roberto Cavalli launched his namesake brand in 1970 and developed an innovative printing process on leather and denim, building a global fashion and lifestyle business with his bold animalier prints, bejeweled distressed jeans and sexy dresses. He died in Florence in April 2024 aged 83.

Cavalli’s CEO Sergio Azzolari quietly left the company last year. The brand is designed by Fausto Puglisi, who joined the house in the fall of 2020 and has been successfully embracing the vision of the late founder and increasing the brand’s visibility through the slew of celebrities who have worn it, from Taylor Swift, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Lopez to Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani. A swim collaboration with Kim Kardashian’s Skims was revealed last year.

Mariah Carey performed at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in February wearing an ornate Cavalli gown featuring an Art Deco-inspired design of shimmering beads and crystal embellishments on the bodice, waist and skirt of the dress, with a dramatic train and a feathery wrap.

— With contributions from Evan Clark, New York.