MILAN— PAI Partners, a leading European private equity firm, has reached an agreement for the acquisition of 78.93 percent of the share capital of Marcolin S.p.A. (MCL.MI) from the company’s major shareholders, including the Marcolin family, the Diego Della Valle brothers and Antonio Abete.

The company said it was in discussions with PAI last week, as VMail reported. The deal, which is expected to be completed by the end of November, will delist the company from the Italian exchange and take the company private.

The agreement, for an agreed price of €4.25 per share, would be valued at €207 million, or $268.42 million. The deal is subject to approvals by relevant antitrust authorities and the drawdown of a loan relating to the transaction. The purchase will be carried out by Cristallo S.p.A., a company controlled by PAI Funds in which the shareholders, including the Marcolin family, Diego Della Valle and his brother Andrea and shareholder Antonio Abete will take a stake and then hold a combined 15 percent of the company at the end of the transaction, an announcement said.

Raffaele R. Vitale, a partner at PAI Partners, said, “We are delighted to invest in Marcolin which is a leader in its sector with excellent growth prospects and is a classic PAI investment in one of our core areas of expertise and focus. We see excellent potential to develop the business, both in Europe, the United States and particularly in emerging markets, where demand for these products is rapidly increasing.

“Our partnership with the Marcolin family and Diego and Andrea Della Valle and Antonio Abete in this investment is very important to support the growth of the business. The Marcolin family has always shown strong commitment to the company and we consider particularly important the current and future involvement of Maurizio Marcolin as head of licensing and relationship with the brands. We are of course very pleased to pursue the development of the company under the leadership of Giovanni Zoppas [managing director] whom we know well and with whom we have successfully worked together in the past.”

Giovanni Marcolin Coffen, founder and chairman of Marcolin, commented, “PAI Partners has a proven track record of working with businesses such as Marcolin. I am confident that they will add significant value to the company, supporting our progression as we become increasingly international and continue to build on our strong position in this market.”

Marcolin is a leading global producer of glasses and sunglasses for such brands as Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli and Just Cavalli, Diesel, Montblanc, Tod’s and Hogan, Balenciaga, Swarovski, Timberland, DSquared2 and Kenneth Cole. The company was founded by Giovanni Marcolin in 1961 and is headquartered in Longarone, Italy. It has offices across Europe and in the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan and Brazil. Marcolin S.p.A. had sales of €224.1 million and EBITDA €34.2 million in 2011, up 9 percent and 14 percent respectively from the previous year.

PAI Partners’ statement said it will support Marcolin through its next phase of growth, investing in the expansion of the company’s international footprint and long‐term contracts with major designer brands.

The consumer sector is one of PAI’s core target areas for investment, the company said, pointing out its investments in such leading consumer brands as: Gruppo Coin, a leading Italian fashion retailer; The Nuance Group, the third largest airport duty free retailer worldwide; United Biscuits the largest biscuits manufacturer in the UK; and Yoplait, one of the top 20 global consumer brands.