Amsterdam will become the Hub for School’s international activities and an attraction point for young people in Northern Europe. Thanks to this operation, Luiss Business School accelerates its growth and get stronger in the higher education for fashion and luxury sectors, traditional Made in Italy excellence. 
Luiss Business School acquires Amsterdam Fashion Academy: for the first time in its history, the School grows abroad and through an acquisition, strengthening its positioning as a dynamic and international excellent Italian institution. Thanks to this operation, Luiss Business School speeds up in higher education of fashion and luxury sectors, traditional Made in Italy spearhead. The Amsterdam Fashion Academy (AFA) is a higher education boutique founded in The Netherlands in 2013 and it is currently the only Dutch institution giving a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Fashion and Luxury sectors. With approximately 200 students, the 73% of them coming from 20 different Countries all around the World, AFA is high-ranked, posing great attention to academic quality and to the ratio between Students and Teachers, currently equal to 6, representing a unprecedented case in the higher education landscape, both before and after graduation.
“The acquisition of Amsterdam Fashion Academy represents a historic milestone for Luiss Business School and for our University, as well as for our education system in general”, Luiss’ President Vincenzo Boccia commented. “Thanks to this operation, Luiss reaffirms itself as an extremely dynamic reality, on a strong expansion path and with a particular attention to education challenges at an international level”, Boccia added. The acquisition will allow Luiss Business School to develop a particularly attractive educational offer, with double or joint programmes located in Amsterdam and Rome, in addition to the creation of a solid axis in fashion and luxury sectors between Milan and Amsterdam hubs.
“Thanks to this operation, few weeks after the strengthening on national territory with the opening of Dolomites Hub, located in Veneto region, Luiss Business School will develop a concrete international hub, in which to focus on educational activities dedicated to Northern Europe young graduates, in all those sectors representing the Made In Italy excellence: fashion and luxury first, but creative industry and family business are included, where Italy and Luiss Business School are referring points”, added Luigi Abete, Luiss Business School President.
Moreover, the choice of Amsterdam will allow Luiss Business School to further develop its network with global and European multinational companies’ headquarters settled in The Netherlands capital, a trend willing to grow up thanks to current geopolitical European developments.
Establishing a direct presence at the heart of Europe will allow Luiss Business School to develop an excellent hub for the international recruitment of the Students for the whole School, thus exploiting synergies of costs and academic.
Over the next two years, AFA offer portfolio is foreseen to be revised and integrated: the kick-off of 15 courses – Master and Executive – is expected in 2020 – 2021.
Gemma & Partners assisted Luiss Business School in the acquisition with a team led by Partners Dr. Antonio Italiano for financial and tax profiles, Prof. Andrea Gemma together with senior associate Elisabetta Mattozzi and associate Leone Momigliano for legal and regulatory profiles.
01/09/2020
