Emmanuel Perrotin is in the process of selling 60% of the shares of his eponymous gallery to Colony Investment Management (Colony IM), a French real estate, credit and private equity firm, in order to grow the business.
A joint statement released by the companies describes the move as a “pioneering alliance between an investment firm and an art gallery” that “will combine Perrotin’s passion for supporting established and emerging artists with complementary corporate infrastructure and support to facilitate Perrotin’s long-term growth plans. and visual. »
Perrotin will retain the remaining 40% stake in the contemporary art gallery, which is headquartered in Paris and currently has ten galleries in cities around the world, including Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Dubai and Los Angeles.
The gallery declined to disclose the exact terms and value of the deal. According to a press release, the completion of the transaction is expected for the second half of this year, but “remains subject to customary conditions”. Asked to specify what these conditions are, a spokesperson for the gallery tells The arts journal“We have no further information on this subject to share at this stage”.
On Perrotin’s role in the company going forward, a spokesperson said: “With this operation, Colony IM becomes the majority shareholder but Emmanuel Perrotin remains very invested in the company. He will continue to play a key role in the organization, both strategic and operational, and will retain his role as Chairman.
Perrotin founded the gallery in 1990, when he was only 21, and had wanted an outside investor “for several years, but the process accelerated when he met Nadra Moussalem. [the chairman and chief executive] a few months ago,” the spokesperson said.
“The association we are announcing today is the culmination of more than 30 years of work by a loyal and committed team serving extraordinary artists who have grown up with the gallery,” Perrotin said in a statement. “I am convinced that Colony IM is the ideal partner to support us in a new stage of this collective adventure, to which I remain more than ever attached. This new impetus will allow us to further strengthen our existing expertise and develop new ones. .”
This “new impetus” will involve the gallery strengthening itself “in the areas that have made its reputation for more than 30 years”. [i.e. dealing in art] by accelerating its international deployment and by developing in new activities” says the spokesperson The arts journal. These new activities include the development of “derivative products”, its secondary market activity and “white label” galleries. The additional capital investment, Perrotin said, could also enable the acquisition of competing galleries.
Moussalem said: “We are always exploring new areas of investment and seeking to help companies realize their full potential… The partnership we are considering today with Perrotin is the result of a shared vision with Emmanuel Perrotin, aiming for long-term growth and the expansion of We are convinced that contemporary art represents a very promising asset class for the future.
