ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates and MILAN — February 6, 2026
Executive Summary
MondeVita, the lifestyle and luxury division of Mondevo Group, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Raffaele Caruso S.p.A. from Lanvin Group. The transaction was executed through MondeVita Italy S.r.l. and positions Caruso as the foundational brand within MondeVita’s luxury platform. Founded in 1964 in Soragna, Italy, Caruso is a globally recognized manufacturer of high-end men’s tailoring, combining artisanal craftsmanship with contemporary industrial capabilities. The acquisition was supported by ITTIKAR, Mondevo Group’s AI-native merchant bank, which served as exclusive advisor and deployed proprietary artificial intelligence across due diligence and transaction execution. According to the company, the transaction represents both MondeVita’s first major investment and a proof point for AI-native merchant banking applied to complex, cross-border acquisitions.
Announcement Overview
MondeVita confirmed the closing of its acquisition of Raffaele Caruso S.p.A., a long-established Italian luxury tailoring house headquartered in Soragna, within the province of Parma. The transaction was completed through MondeVita Italy S.r.l., formally bringing Caruso into MondeVita’s portfolio and establishing it as the cornerstone asset of the division’s luxury and lifestyle strategy.
Caruso operates as a manufacturer and brand owner within the global luxury menswear ecosystem, serving leading international fashion houses while also developing its own Caruso brand through a curated network of high-end retailers worldwide. The company employs more than 450 artisans and specialists, blending time-honoured sartorial techniques with modern production processes. Annual revenues are approximately €35 million.
MondeVita stated that the acquisition aligns with its mandate to acquire, steward, and scale heritage brands with strong identities, established craftsmanship, and global relevance. The transaction also reflects Mondevo Group’s broader strategy of integrating technology-enabled decisioning into investment and advisory processes.
Key Announcement Details
- Transaction type: Completed acquisition
- Acquirer: MondeVita (Mondevo Group)
- Target: Raffaele Caruso S.p.A.
- Seller: Lanvin Group
- Transaction vehicle: MondeVita Italy S.r.l.
- Headquarters of target: Soragna (Parma), Italy
- Employees: More than 450
- Annual revenue: Approximately €35 million
- Advisor: ITTIKAR (exclusive advisor)
- Geographic scope: Europe with global commercial reach
Strategic Context
According to the company, the acquisition of Caruso reflects a broader opportunity within the global luxury sector, where many heritage brands operate in fragmented markets despite strong brand equity, skilled workforces, and international demand. MondeVita identified luxury goods, premium beverages, hospitality, and wellness as sectors where long-term ownership and shared operational capabilities can support sustainable growth.
Caruso’s positioning as both a manufacturing partner to global fashion houses and a brand with its own retail presence was cited as a strategic fit for MondeVita’s platform approach. The company stated that the acquisition allows MondeVita to combine Caruso’s established production expertise with broader portfolio-level capabilities, while preserving the brand’s identity and leadership continuity.
The transaction also highlights Mondevo Group’s emphasis on applying AI-native technologies to investment processes. Through ITTIKAR, the group seeks to augment traditional merchant banking workflows with advanced analytics, automation, and consistency across complex diligence and execution stages.
The Role of ITTIKAR in the Transaction
ITTIKAR, Mondevo Group’s AI-native merchant bank dedicated to serving family offices, acted as exclusive advisor to MondeVita throughout the acquisition. Developed by Mondevo Tech, the group’s in-house technology division, ITTIKAR applied proprietary artificial intelligence agents across the full scope of the transaction.
According to Mondevo Group, ITTIKAR deployed AI agents to conduct comprehensive due diligence covering financial statements, corporate governance, real estate assets, tax structures, workforce considerations, and commercial contracts. Hundreds of documents were analyzed across jurisdictions, with AI-enabled workflows designed to improve speed, depth, and consistency relative to conventional processes.
The Caruso transaction was described by the company as a proof of concept for ITTIKAR’s operating model, demonstrating how AI-native architectures can enhance analytical coverage and execution efficiency in cross-border acquisitions involving regulated entities, legacy operations, and culturally significant brands.
AI-Native Due Diligence and Execution
Mondevo Group stated that ITTIKAR’s AI-native framework enabled parallel analysis streams across multiple diligence domains, reducing friction typically associated with document review, issue flagging, and synthesis. Proprietary AI agents were configured to assess risks and opportunities while maintaining alignment with jurisdiction-specific legal and regulatory considerations.
According to the company, this approach allowed MondeVita to reach conviction on the transaction structure and valuation with a level of analytical depth that would be difficult to achieve using traditional, manually intensive methods alone. The application of AI-assisted workflows was positioned as complementary to human judgment rather than a replacement, enabling senior decision-makers to focus on strategic assessment and execution.
Leadership Commentary
Hussam Otaibi, Founder of Mondevo Group, commented:
“Caruso embodies everything MondeVita stands for: authentic heritage, world-class craftsmanship, and a strong national identity with global resonance. What distinguishes this transaction is ITTIKAR’s role — from due diligence through execution, our AI-native capabilities enabled a level of analytical depth and speed that would not have been achievable through conventional approaches. This represents the future of dealmaking for family offices.”
Fabio Brambilla, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mondevo Group, added:
“Caruso is precisely the type of business MondeVita was created to steward — a company where tradition, skilled craftsmanship, and brand identity converge into a first-class luxury product. The opportunity and ability to deploy ITTIKAR’s AI-native insight across the entire process shaped both our conviction and the structure of this transaction. We now look forward to working alongside Marco Angeloni and his team in unlocking Caruso’s full potential, whilst continuing to build MondeVita’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio.”
Governance and Leadership Continuity
Following completion of the transaction, Fabio Brambilla will serve as Chairman of both Caruso and MondeVita. Marco Angeloni has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer of Caruso and will become a minority shareholder, a structure MondeVita stated underscores long-term alignment between ownership and management.
The existing management team and Creative Director Max Kibardin will remain in place. According to MondeVita, continuity of leadership and creative direction is central to preserving Caruso’s brand identity, operational excellence, and relationships with global clients and partners.
Caruso’s Position in Global Luxury Menswear
Founded in 1964, Raffaele Caruso S.p.A. has developed a reputation as one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of luxury men’s tailoring. The company operates from Soragna, within Italy’s historic tailoring region, and combines artisanal craftsmanship with industrial scale.
Caruso serves a dual role within the luxury ecosystem. As a manufacturer, it partners with leading global fashion houses, delivering tailored garments that meet stringent quality and design standards. As a brand owner, Caruso develops collections under its own label, distributed through a selective network of premium menswear retailers worldwide.
Employing more than 450 artisans and specialists, Caruso integrates traditional hand-tailoring techniques with modern production systems. Annual revenues are approximately €35 million, reflecting both manufacturing contracts and branded product sales.
MondeVita’s Luxury Platform Strategy
MondeVita was established as the lifestyle and luxury division of Mondevo Group with a mandate to acquire and steward heritage brands across multiple categories. According to the company, the acquisition of Caruso represents MondeVita’s first major investment and serves as the foundation for a broader platform strategy.
The division is focused on sectors including luxury goods, premium beverages, hospitality, and wellness, areas characterized by fragmented ownership structures and strong demand for operational excellence. MondeVita stated that its approach emphasizes long-term ownership, shared capabilities, and disciplined capital allocation rather than short-term financial engineering.
About MondeVita
MondeVita is the lifestyle and luxury division of Mondevo Group, established to acquire, steward, and scale heritage brands across luxury goods, premium beverages, hospitality, and wellness. The division focuses on businesses with established craftsmanship, strong brand equity, and international relevance, particularly in categories where ownership remains fragmented and long-term capital can support operational continuity and brand development.
MondeVita operates with a long-term ownership mandate, prioritizing brand preservation, management continuity, and operational excellence over short-term financial optimization. The acquisition of Raffaele Caruso S.p.A. represents MondeVita’s first major investment and serves as the foundation of its luxury platform strategy. According to the company, MondeVita intends to build a portfolio of complementary heritage brands over time, leveraging shared capabilities in governance, technology, and global market access.
About ITTIKAR
ITTIKAR is an AI-native merchant bank headquartered in Abu Dhabi Global Market and dedicated exclusively to serving family offices. The platform was developed by Mondevo Tech, Mondevo Tech, the Group’s in-house technology division, which comprises more than 40 artificial intelligence engineers based primarily in Singapore.
ITTIKAR deploys one dedicated AI agent per family office, supporting deal origination, due diligence, transaction advisory, and portfolio monitoring across asset classes. The platform integrates proprietary AI workflows with traditional merchant banking expertise, enabling structured analysis across financial statements, governance, real estate, tax, workforce, and commercial contracts. According to Mondevo Group, ITTIKAR is designed to enhance analytical depth, consistency, and execution efficiency in complex, cross-border transactions rather than replace human decision-making.
About Raffaele Caruso S.p.A.
Raffaele Caruso S.p.A. was founded in 1964 in Soragna, within Italy’s Parma province, and has grown into one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of luxury men’s tailoring. The company operates at the intersection of artisanal craftsmanship and industrial scale, employing more than 450 artisans and specialists across its production facilities.
Caruso serves leading global fashion houses as a manufacturing partner while also developing its own Caruso brand, distributed through a curated network of high-end menswear retailers worldwide. The brand is defined by its philosophy of “Playful Elegance,” combining classical tailoring traditions with contemporary design and production techniques. The company generates annual revenues of approximately €35 million, reflecting a diversified mix of manufacturing contracts and branded product sales.
About Mondevo Group
Mondevo Group is a multi-divisional holding company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, operating at the intersection of technology, investment, and lifestyle. The Group’s activities span wealth management, venture capital, luxury and lifestyle investments, and foundational technology platforms designed to support decision-making and execution at scale.
Mondevo Group leverages AI-native capabilities developed internally alongside a global network of ultra-high-net-worth families to pursue long-term investments in sectors characterized by high barriers to entry and durable demand. Through its operating divisions, the Group focuses on building and owning businesses with strong institutional foundations, disciplined governance, and sustainable growth potential across global markets.
Source Attribution
Source: Company announcement