Italy's La Perla says has received second rescue offer

Italian luxury underwear maker La Perla has received a second rescue offer, this time from a Luxembourg-based holding headed by an Italian entrepreneur, it said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the loss-making group did not give any financial details about the offer from SMS Finance, but said it was an alternative to an earlier bid submitted by fashion company Calzedonia. SMS Finance is run by Silvio Scaglia, former head of Italian telecoms group Fastweb.

An auction for La Perla, whose restructuring is being supervised by a court under Italian law, will be held on June 4.

Founded in 1956 by a corset-maker in the city of Bologna, La Perla was bought in 2008 by U.S. private equity fund JH Partners, which has invested around 50 million euros ($65 million) in the firm.

The company has been looking for possible partners since the end of 2012 as it needs liquidity to cut debt and implement a plan to open 160 stores over the next three years.