Alberto Palatchi, the 78-year-old founder of Spanish bridal wear company Pronovias, was playing hard to get. His suitor, Jean-Baptiste Wautier of private equity firm BC Partners, had courted Palatchi for months without so much as a returned call.

According to Wautier, Pronovias was especially appealing because bridal wear is one of the few areas of the retail market that could be relatively immune to the onslaught of online commerce. But after his advances were spurned several times, he was ready to move on when he suddenly got a call from a banker from Rothschild who offered to play matchmaker.