With his understated bespoke suits stitched by venerable Bolognese tailors, razor-edged pocket squares and animated hand gestures, Matteo di Montezemolo, 35, embodies the impeccable Italy Inc.
For the last 10 years, as CEO of Montezemolo Partners, a private investment vehicle of his family, he has been building a fashion and furniture empire, one hand-crafted object at a time, but now he has joined ranks with the Tatas for his most audacious buyout efforts ever.
Last week, by making a $1.86-billion unsolicited offer, the Tata-controlled Indian Hotels revived their plans to hop onto the luxurious Orient Express Hotels (OEH) chain and roped in Montezemello Partners' Charme II Fund for a consortium, a move that most say, is predominantly to win over critics and pacify hostile sentiments.
"The active presence of Montezemolo & Partners, as manager of Charme II Fund, will be extremely strategic for supporting the Italian assets and operations of OEH, and for Tata Group it is an ideal partner sharing common ethical values and business principles," said an Indian Hotels spokesperson in a statement while explaining the rationale for the tie-up.
With a history of known animosity between the two sides, which even took racist tones in the past, people close to the negotiations say a Montezemolo association could be critical to break the five-year-old logjam.
Italy's design scion Matteo di Montezemolo joins ranks with Tatas in Orient Express Bid
"They are pitching it as an Indo-Italian venture. Clearly by pooling in the right set of partners, the Tatas are trying to soothe the frayed nerves of the OEH management and investors who may still question their stand alone credentials as a global force," says an investment banker, who is involved in the ongoing negotiations and adds, "Even Paul White, OEH's former CEO, who had rebuffed the earlier Tata offers, is also on their side after resigning from the top job last year."