Italian entrepreneur Maurizio Borletti and the Deutsche Bank successfully sold one of France's largest department store chains to Divine Investments SA (Disa). The sale of Printemps, which sources close to the transaction valued at EUR1.6 billion, was initiated by the Qatari-backed investment fund.

Disa gained almost 70% stake from the Asset and Wealth Management real estate operations of Deutsche Bank. The remaining stake was acquired by Disa from the Borletti Group, an investment group based in Luxembourg. This partition was confirmed by the Deutsche Bank.

"Divine Investments plans to continue the development of the Printemps Group both in Paris and in the rest of France, and to contribute to the international development of this symbol of French fashion and luxury," said Disa's spokersperson.

Primtemps chief executive officer Paolo de Cesare will remain as head of the department store's operations. He said that the new owners devised a plan spanning five years, to be spent on expansion and creation of jobs.