29 December 1997: Danish porcelain company, Royal Copenhagen, has just bought a majority stake in Venini, the famous Murano glassworks owned by two Italian families, the Gardinis and the Ferruzzis.
T…

29 December 1997: Danish porcelain company, Royal Copenhagen, has just bought a majority stake in Venini, the famous Murano glassworks owned by two Italian families, the Gardinis and the Ferruzzis. The operation foresees a 100% buy-out although the acquisition of the remaining shares (held by Alessandra and Franca Ferruzzi) has yet to be finalised. The majority holding was sold to Royal Copenhagen by Eleonora, Ivan Francesco and Maria Speranza Gardini. The takeover is the final stage of an agreement made between the two players in 1995, whereby the Venini range was distributed through a network of 100 shops across Europe. The glass company has 110 employees, and is forecasting a turnover of Lit 20 billion (US$ 11.43 million) for 1997. After a period of crisis, the company has been growing steadily since 1994-95. Venini is also known for some of its work produced by famous Italian architects including Gio Ponti and Alessandro Mendini while, last March, fashion designer Gianni Versace also created 7 pieces which were presented in August at the Tendence show in Frankfurt, Germany.