Fendi's New Owner

12/23/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

The Fendi family is selling control of the fashion house known for "baguette" handbags and Karl Lagerfeld fur coats to a joint partnership of two other luxury names -- Prada and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in Tuesday's announcement, but a person familiar with the deal said the 51% interest in Fendi was sold for about $900 million. The agreement ended a bidding contest for the Italian company. The Fendi family rejected lower bids by Gucci and Texas Pacific Group, a U.S. investment firm.