Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti Group launched a Hong Kong initial public offering. This values the company at up to $1.2 billion. Ferretti, whose customers include British fashion designer Jimmy Choo and former football star David Beckham, is a market leader for yachts measuring at least 80 feet. Their price tag ranges from 4 million euros ($4.4 million) to more than 20 million.
Ferretti has said it has no exposure to mega- and giga-yachts chiefly hit by the measures. This is due to the downplaying risks to the group from the Ukraine war and ensuing sanctions against Russian oligarchs. Fully customised superyachts measuring more than 100 feet account for only 9% of group revenues. Braving choppy markets after a failed IPO attempt in 2019, Ferretti plans to sell 83.58 million shares. This is around 25% of its total equity capital, to raise up to $301 million.
That entails a valuation of $932 million-$1.2 billion. This is with shares to be priced at HK$21.82 to HK$28.24 each. Ferretti expects the value of the global yacht market to grow on average 7% a year. This is by reaching 27 billion euros in 2025, with demand strengthening particularly in the Asia Pacific region. Building on 2021 revenues of 900 million euros, Ferretti plans to use most of the IPO proceeds to grow its core manufacturing business. Ferretti, whose brands include Riva, Pershing and Wally, is owned by Chinese conglomerate Weichai Group.
Piero Ferrari, son of the eponymous luxury sports car company’s founder Enzo Ferrari, owns 11% of the company and sits on the board. Five Chinese cornerstone investors have subscribed for $129.5 million worth of stock in the issue. This company runs six shipyards in Italy and competes with family-owned Sanlorenzo. Shares in Sanlorenzo, which has also downplayed the hit from the Ukraine crisis, touched a 17-month low this month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has see-sawed in the past week but remains down nearly 9% for the year.
The value of Hong Kong IPOs in the first quarter tumbled to $837.4 million from $11 billion at the same time in 2021. The final price of Ferretti’s shares is due to be soon and the stock will start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 31.
