By: Scott Way
Despite the surprise news in January that yacht maker Perini Navi had declared bankruptcy, a bidding war between the Italian Sea Group and Ferretti resulted in a significant purchase for Perini Navi's assets.
The Italian Sea Group, one of the world's largest yacht firms, won the auction with a purchase price of $91 million, funded primarily by proceeds from the company's IPO and additional bank financing. The auction itself was held by a court in Lucca, Tuscany. In a statement, the company said it will double its order intake for refits and increase new contracts for construction of 90-130 meter motor yachts. ISG not only owns a shipyard on the Mediterranean but their portfolio also includes the Admiral and Tecnomar yacht brands.
ISG's competitor at auction, The Ferretti Group, is a similarly large Italian shipbuilder who own well-respected brands including their own Ferretti Yachts line, as well as Pershing, Riva, Mochi Craft, Custom Line, and CRN.
“We wanted to push forward with the investment, but we have approached this auction with absolute determination to acquire all of the assets considering our consolidated competence and the new contracts, in particular in the segment of large sailing yachts,” says The Italian Sea Group’s founder and CEO, Giovanni Constantino.
"The new production spaces will allow us to increase incoming orders for the future in a very dynamic segment,” he added.
At a closer look, it's a prudent move by ISG as roughly 50% of Perini Navi sailing yachts have passed through ISG shipyards for service. Their familiarity with Perini Navi's platforms will undoubtedly smooth the transition and provide an additional stream of revenue and resource acquisition given ISG's knowledge of their platforms.
According to Megayacht News, ISG already had two Perini Navi vessels under construction in its shipyards at the time of the transaction, and that despite Perini's bankruptcy status, the brand's value and reputation had not suffered in recent months. Used purchases of existing Perini yachts were continuing to fetch top dollar in recent months despite news of the impending auction.
You can read the full statement from Italian Sea Group on their website, and you can see the recent launch of their latest Admiral superyacht in the video below:
