The Italian Sea Group has announced that it has presented an irrevocable proposal for the acquisition of the entire corporate complex of Perini Navi to the Judge Delegate of Lucca’s Court of Law. The proposed acquisition sum of €47million relates to 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 per cent) of Perini Navi USA Inc. and the existing legal relationships with employees and third parties.

The price offered by The Italian Sea Group is €9million less than the last known asking price, but given the negativity that other shipyards and shipyard groups had expressed previously, it may be that this is the last and best legitimate offer that the administrators will receive. This notion is perhaps supported by the fact that The Italian Sea Group has been the least vocally opposed to Perini Navi’s asking price. However, that is no guarantee that other parties were not simply using their various platforms as a means of driving down the price.

According to The Italian Sea Group’s announcement: “The Italian Sea Group – which, in July 2021, had already confirmed its interest in Perini Navi, but only at value compatible with value creation for the company and its shareholders – formulated an economic offer accompanied by a precise industrial plan and a plan to revive the prestigious Perini brand.

Rubbish piled outside Perini Navi, the facility shows significant signs of wear

“Such operation demonstrates once more TISG’s firm intention to increase the spaces dedicated to new constructions, as well as the resolve to further expand its reference market, strengthening positioning in the sail yachting world and bringing into the Group another internationally renowned brand such as Perini Navi.”

While the announcement doesn’t reveal much in terms of the motivations behind the offer, TISG does at least affirm its intention to retain and attempt to rebuild the Perini Navi brand, which does beg the question: what do TISG see that others don’t? Statistics in recent years have all suggested a decline in the sailing yacht market as a proportion of the total sales market. Naturally, figures at the conclusion of 2021 will no doubt show that this market like the rest of the superyacht industry has grown, but that is unlikely to be enough to base a future sailing yacht strategy on.

However, with some commentators, and even certain motoryacht specialists, speculating that there are growth opportunities to be explored with a partial return to the greener sailing yacht model, perhaps TISG is taking a calculated risk by attempting to capitalise on an as-yet unconfirmed superyachting trend by acquiring Perini Navi's intellectual property rather than trying to enter a new sector from scratch.

Equally, with much reportage focussing on long delivery times and the need for additional capacity within the new build market, the seemingly high offer, based on previous feedback from other interested parties may be a reflection of TISG’s predicted need for capacity.

Whether or not other interested parties will come out of the woodwork at this point or stick to their convictions that Perini Navi remains significantly overpriced remains to be seen. However, it seems more than likely, given the continued costs to maintain Perini Navi’s various facilities, that this offer will represent the best that the administrators are going to receive.

Profile links

Perini Navi

The Italian Sea Group

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.