Perini Navi remains Italian. The Italian Sea Group wins the auction with 80 million euros

In the end an Italian brand will be the new owner of Perini Navi. Giovanni Costantino’s The Italian Sea Group (whose partners include Giorgio Armani) won the auction to take over the historic brand of sailing megayachts made in Italy, beating San Lorenzo and Ferretti (which had formed the equal joint venture Restart S.p.A) for 80 million euros.

The Italian Sea Group acquires Perini Navi

Let’s retrace the story

But let’s take a step back. After a long period of success, in 2017 Perini Navi shows the first signs of difficulty, which are not resolved by the entrance of the Tabacchi family, which acquires the majority of the company in 2018. The new management is unable to revive the shipyard. The crisis worsened and the company’s debt reached almost 100 million.

To attempt a rescue, in May 2020, the owners presented a debt restructuring plan. However, the Court of Lucca deemed the plan unsuitable and on 28 January 2021 declared Perini Navi bankrupt. The Perini shipyard in Turkey immediately finds a buyer, a Turkish steel group, which buys it for 30.6 million euros. It remains to sell the Italian “package” with the brand, the shipyards in La Spezia and Viareggio, a piece of land in Pisa, Perini Navi USA, the hull of Larry Ellison’s yacht, and guarantee the jobs of 75 workers.

Restart SpA vs Italian Sea Group

Showing signs of interest are the joint venture Restart S.p.A. formed by Sanlorenzo and Ferretti Group, Giovanni Costantino’s The Italian Sea Group, Palumbo Yachts and, it seems, investment funds. The receiver set the first auction in July with a base of 62.5 million euros. However, the auction failed. A new attempt was made in September at 62.5 million euro. But once again no one showed up.

Faced with this result, the receiver assured the unions, who were extremely worried about the situation, that a new auction would be held within the year. The auction base is said to be 50 million. On 26 October, in the space of a few hours, two contenders put their cards on the table.

47 million against “X”

On the one hand, The Italian Sea Group, which has been listed on the stock exchange since last June and whose shareholders include Giorgio Armani, is making an “irrevocable offer” of 47 million euros. On the other Restart S.p.A. of Sanlorenzo and Ferretti Group with their “irrevocable offer” where, however, the amount offered does not appear in black and white. Two cards on the table. Today the official announcement on the outcome of the auction, won by The Italian Sea Group for 80 million.

The Italian Sea Group’s press release

“The Italian Sea Group S.p.A. (“TISG” or the “Company”), global operator in the luxury yachting industry, through its 100%
subsidiary New Sail s.r.l., won the Auction held by the Lucca Court for the bankruptcy of Perini Navi S.p.A., at an overall price of 80 million Euros”, says the official press release.

The Italian Sea Group and Perini assets

As indicated in the previous press releases, the auction includes the industrial and real estate assets of the shipyards in Viareggio and La Spezia, the building complex in Pisa, one vessel under construction (project n. 2369), trademarks and patents, the social participation (100%) of Perini Navi USA Inc. and the existing legal relationships with employees and third parties.

TISG will finance the operation through cash availability, re-investing a significant portion of IPO proceeds collected at the beginning of June, as well as bank funding lines.

The Italian Sea Group and Perini Navi: the advantages

What does the acquisition of Perini Navi bring to The Italian Sea Group? The group has demonstrated its great ability to enhance the value of its acquired assets and brands, as demonstrated by the strong growth achieved through the relaunch of Admiral and Tecnomar. But Perini Navi certainly has a lot to offer the group:

• A proven track record in the enhancement of assets and brands, as demonstrated by the strong growth achieved through the Admiral and Tecnomar brand relaunches
• A considerable number of professionalities / people who had worked for Perini Navi, recruiteded by The Italian Sea Group in the last year, who factually contribute to create and cement an internal culture in the  2 construction and refit of sailing yacht projects: the integration of additional employees from Perini Navi will therefore be quick and effective
• Unparalleled track record in the refit of Perini Navi sailing yachts, with around 50% of the brand’s yachts having passed through The Italian Sea Group shipyard. It is expected that Perini Navi S.p.A.’s integration could bring several benefits to the Group:
• Expansion of production capacity which will allow the order intake for the refit to double and will lead to the acquisition of new contracts for the construction of 90-130 metre motor yachts;

Larger-than-expected orders

“I am very proud of this operation. We wanted to push forward with the investment, but we have approached the auction with absolute determination to acquire all of the asset considering our consolidated competence and the new contracts, in particular in the segment of large sailing yachts.” commented Giovanni Costantino, The Italian Sea Group Founder & CEO. “The new production spaces will allow us to increase incoming order for the future in a very dynamic segment, as proven by the two orders for sailing yachts that we signed in December. We are therefore confident to have made the right decision, driven by an incoming order that has exceeded expectations by 50%.

The Perini Navi acquisition represents an achievement with exceptional strategic importance for the Company’s future, as it continues to expand its horisons in an objective to increase production capacity to accommodate the growth in new orders and a significant increase in demand.

With this need for growth, partially covered through the two investment  plans TISG 4.0 and TISG 4.1, there is also the great strategic opportunity represented by the prestigious Perini Navi brand, which will allow the Company to expand and strengthen its positioning in the large sailing yacht segment, in which it is already strongly active.

In December 2021, TISG has signed contracts for two sailing ketches with a length of 56 metres, which add to the project under costruction Art Explora, a sailing catamaran among the biggest in the world, a project with high cultural level and sustainable innovation. The Company had already acquired from the Perini Navi bankruptcy two projects in progress, which are going to be completed through the NCA Refit division, which  3 has already operated in the refitting of Perini Navi vessels, as demonstrated by the four yachts currently present in the shipyard”.