Ajman royalty near deal for French fashion house

The ruling family of Ajman is likely to enter the world of haute couture after making a €70 million (Dh375m) takeover bid for the ailing French fashion house Christian Lacroix, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June. Regis Valliot, the company's court-appointed administrator, told AFP that the offer - by Sheikh Hassan bin Ali, a nephew of Humaid bin Rashid, the Ruler of Ajman - would be "formalised" within 48 hours.

"It is the fantastic solution we dared not hope for," Mr Valliot said. Luca Solca, a luxury analyst at Bernstein Research in London, called the offer ambitious. "It is difficult to be successful with a really small brand like Christian Lacroix and one not at the top of customers' minds," Mr Solca said. The Christian Lacroix company was set up by Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of the luxury retail giant LVMH, in 1987. But after years of losses, LVMH sold the company to the US duty free giant Falic in 2005.

With additional reporting by Armina Ligaya and AFP