By Elisa Anzolin
MILAN (Reuters) - Italian Instagram star Chiara Ferragni has mandated BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) to find a new investor to help grow her fashion brand internationally, one of her financial backers said on Monday.
Lorenzo Castelli of venture capital Alchimia Investments, which has a 40% stake in Ferragni's company Fenice, said private equity firms, family offices and industrial players were being sounded out for a possible investment.
"We have started the process in the past days and expect to close a deal before the summer", Castelli, who co-founded Alchimia, said in a phone interview, without disclosing details.
"A new investor can help implement the new business plan and move the company to the next stage."
Ferragni, 34, is Italy's top fashion influencer with almost 26 million followers on Instagram.
Ferragni became popular with the launch of her fashion blog theblondesalad.com in 2009. She later launched her namesake brand, which includes clothing, shoes and makeup.
She told Corriere della Sera daily and WWD on Monday that Fenice, which owns all the licenses and operations of her brand, would double its core profit to 2.4 million euros this year.
Ferragni has a 32.5% stake in Fenice, with a third Italian investor owning the rest.