MILAN, Italy - Benetton Group said Friday it has agreed to sell its Nordica ski boot maker to Tecnica Group, an unlisted Italian company.

Benetton, Italy's largest clothing company, also said it would acquire a 10 percent stake in Tecnica for 15 million euros (US$).

The move was part of Benetton's strategy to sell or find allies for its low-margin sports equipment units, which also include tennis racket maker Prince and in-line skates maker Rollerblade.

Benetton said last month it is in talks to sell Rollerblade to Canada's Hockey Co.

Analysts have said Benetton will prosper if it focuses on its core casual wear business.

The price for Nordica's sale will be set on Feb. 1 and will be defined after an estimate of Nordica's assets by the end of the month, Benetton said in a statement. The brand alone was estimated at 38 million euros (US$), the company said.

Benetton, which is based near Treviso in northeastern Italy, bought Nordica from Tecnica about 13 years ago. But sales at the division have slipped, falling an estimated 15 percent last year.

With the Nordica acquisition, Tecnica will become by far the world's largest ski boot producer. Tecnica had 44 million euros (US$) in sales in 2001 while Nordica had revenue of 84.4 million euros (US$), according to Benetton.  

AP, 10.01.2003

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