The real estate investment company Colony Investment Management is in discussion to purchase a 60 percent stake in Perrotin gallery, according to Bloomberg News.
The two companies, both headquartered in Paris with offices in several other cities, are in “exclusive negotiations,” with a deal likely closing “in the second half of this year.” Per the report, the deal will enable Perrotin to explore the opening of galleries in cities like Zurich, London, or Istanbul, or to possibly purchase rivals.
Terms were not disclosed, but Perrotin reported €140 million ($151 million) in sales in 2022, steady profitability, and no debt.
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“The art market has experienced an enormous revolution in the past few years, but there’s still lots to come,” Emmanual Perrotin told Bloomberg News, citing changes brought on by digitalization. “We need to boost our activities throughout the world and conquer new geographies.”
The 55-year-old French entrepreneur founded his namesake gallery in 1990, expanded exhibition spaces to a dozen locations like Seoul, New York, and Tokyo, and is opening one in Los Angeles in the fall. The business represents major contemporary artists such as Takashi Murakami, Maurizio Cattelan, Sophia Calle, and JR, and also hosted the first gallery show for the viral marketing company MSCHF last November.
The company has also expanded to sell prints, books, and other products as part of its push to diversify revenue and provide other services to clients. This includes plans to open a storage facility in a suburb of Paris, which was delayed due to the long-term presence of squatters, according to Perrotin.
Perrotin plans to remain in charge of the business after the shift in ownership.
Colony CEO Nadra Moussalem told Bloomberg that his company was drawn to Perrotin’s diversified revenue from its different locations around the world, and that Colony’s expertise in real estate will help the art gallery achieve its founder’s ambitions.
The art gallery is currently participating in Art Basel, the world’s largest art fair, in the Swiss city this week with a solo presentation by Genesis Belanger, as well as an assortment of works by Jean-Marie Appriou, Anna-Eva Bergman, Cattelan, Murakami, and Calle.
Colony and Perrotin did not respond to emailed inquiries from ARTnews by press time.
