Qataris buy Italian fashion house Valentino

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - A Qatari group has agreed to buy the prestigious Italian fashion house Valentino from its private equity owner Permira, in a deal that underlines the kingdom's appetite for trophy assets.

The deal values Valentino at about 700 million euros ($857.46 million), people familiar with the situation said.

The acquisition is being made through Mayhoola for Investments SPC, an investment vehicle backed by a major private investor group from Qatar, the parties said on Thursday.

($1 = 0.8164 euros) (Reporting by Simon Meads)