70% of companies in the yachting sector describe themselves as leading according to a study performed by Yacht Harbour on a sample of over 100 companies. It can therefore be hard for customers to differentiate at first glance the real financial position of companies and their scale.
Following a very active past 20 years in the mergers and acquisitions space in the yachting industry, some behemoths have emerged, controlling a large portion of the market and shaping the industry moving forward. Some high-profile individuals and corporations have also become involved in the superyacht industry in recent years. We have therefore investigated some of the most powerful corporations and individuals in the yachting space.
Dalian Wanda Group
Princess AVK
Annual revenue: $39.47 billion (2014)
Chairman & Founder: Wang Jianlin
Brands: Sunseeker
Largest commercial real estate operator in China and world's largest cinema chain operator, Wanda Group was founded in 1988 by Wang Jianlin. The company has today 634 billion yuans in assets and manages over 26 million square meters of hotel property. In 2013, the company decided to purchase UK-based yacht manufacturer, Sunseeker.
Having gone through losses of 9 million pounds in 2009, Sunseeker restructured its debt and was taken over by FL Partners, an Irish private equity company. Sunseeker was sold in 2013 to the Wanda Group for around 300 million pounds according to the Financial Times.
LVMH
Symphony - © Feadship Fanclub
Annual revenue: $35.6 billion (2015)
Chairman & CEO: Bernard Arnault
Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, better known as the French luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH, is perhaps not so surprisingly also a player in the superyacht industry. In 2008, L Capital, the company's investment arm, purchased Princess Yachts in a deal worth 200 million pounds according to Reuters, with support from the Calyon investment bank.
Later that year, the conglomerate strengthened their position in the company with the purchase of Royal Van Lent, part of the Feadship organization, for a reported sum between 200-400 million euros. In 2007, Royal Van Lent had posted sales of 100 million euros.
Gavio Group
Fast - © Baglietto
Annual turnaround: €2.2 billion (2012)
Gruppo Gavio, a large Italian corporation whose main business lies in motorway concessions with the company operating over 1400 kilometers of motorways in Italy, also has interests in the yachting industry. In 2012, Bejamino Gavio led an acquisition of the iconic Italian Baglietto shipyard for a sum of €18.5 million. The shipyard had been through some rough waters during the financial crisis resulting in 73 million euros of negative equity in 2009.
The group further consolidated its position in the sector by purchasing Cerri Cantieri Navali, a few months before the Baglietto deal, and by later acquiring US-based Bertram in 2015.
Privinvest Group
Siren © Yacht Harbour
Current owners: Akram & Iskandar Safa
Privinvest Group is one of Europe's largest maritime corporations which is involved in naval manufacturing and is also involved in the superyacht industry. Founded by the Safa brothers, Privinvest purchased Constructions mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) based in Cherbourg, France in 1992. The company then managed to turn around the fledging shipyard with new orders from the Middle East according to the Independent.
In 2007, the group funded 30% of the Abu Dhabi MAR company which ventured into shipbuilding through ADMShipyards and worked on the 141-meter Yas. In 2009, Privinvest continued to consolidate its position in the sector by acquiring German shipyard Nobiskrug.
Azimut-Benetti Group
I Dynasty © Superyachts Monaco
Maximum recorded asset net worth: €300 million (2011)
Current owner: Paolo Vitelli
Brands: Benetti, Azimut
Azimut was established in the early 1970s by Paolo Vitelli as a dealership of Amerglass boats. The company then evolved into yacht manufacturing by building its first 43ft boat. It later delivered Failaka, the first 30-metre fibreglass yacht ever built, to a Kuwaiti prince. In 1985, Azimut took over the Fratelli Benetti boatyard in Viareggio, setting the roots for the group. The company later started collaborating with young designer, Stefano Righini, which would bring the Azimut lines the company is known for today.
The company acquired the Gobbi shipyard in 2001 which now produced the group's Atlantis range from 10m to 18m. In 2004, the group acquired Fraser Yachts, a large yacht brokerage company. It later developed Marina di Varazze and the Royal Yacht Club in Moscow. By 2011, the group's net assets grew to €300 million according to this presentation with a turnover of €600 million, a significant cut on its €1 billion turnover in 2008 according to the Financial Times.
Ferretti Group
Chopi Chopi © Yacht Harbour
Maximum recorded value: €1.5 billion (2007)
Current owners: Weichai Group, Royal Bank of Scotland
Ferretti was established in 1968 as the first marine division of Alessandro and Norberto Ferretti's family business. In 1971, the company delivered its first wooden motor-sailer and by 1982 it began producing boats for sport fishing with a flybridge. By 1996, the group decided to expand into a larger range and set up Custom Line, a division meant to operate in the growing 26-40m range. In following years, the company multiplied acquisitions buying CNA in 1998, CRN in 1999, Riva in 2000, Mochi Craft in 2001 and Itama in 2004.
As the company was preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) after having been acquired in a leveraged buyout by Candover Investments which put the Group's value at €1.5 billion in 2007, the financial crisis led to a significant drop in sales. As a result, the Group had to restructure debt and its creditors, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, converted a portion of their €1.2 billion debt into equity according to Bloomberg.
Ferretti Group was eventually sold to Weichai Group, a state-owned Chinese company, the largest maker of bulldozer's in China.
Vagit Alekperov
Galactica Super Nova - © Dick Holthius
Net worth: $11.1 billion (2016)
Brands: Heesen Yachts
Mr. Vagit Alekperov is currently considered to be Russia's 9th richest man according to Forbes. In May 2015 it became known that the head of Lukoil, Russia's largest independent oil company, is the current owner of Heesen.
In 2008, Mr. Alekperov purchased Heesen Yachts from founder, Frans Heesen, for a reported sum of 100 million euros. The shipyard posted profits of €5.2 million in 2013 according to Forbes Russia.
In March 2016, Heesen launched its newest flagship, the 70m Galactica Super Nova (Project Kometa) which was built for Mr. Alekperov according to Dutch publication, Quote.
Mohammed Al Barwani
Turquoise - © Ocean Independence
Net worth: $1.2 billion (2015)
Energy tycoon, Mohammed al-Barwani made his wealth investing in oil, gas, minerals and manufacturing. In 2010 he however decided to purchase Dutch shipyard, Oceanco from Greek shipping magnate, Theodore Angelopoulos. First company to build spa pools on superyachts, Oceanco has much benefited from the hands-on approach of Al Barnawi delivering the beautiful Nirvana for Russian billionaire Potanin as well as expanding its facility to be able to construct yachts up to 160 meters.
In December 2013, al-Barwani further consolidated his position in the industry, purchasing Turkish yacht manufacturer, Proteksan (now Turquoise Yachts), which was struggling following the highly publicized sinkage of M/Y Yogi.
47m high-performance cruiser sloop Nilaya and her Panamax carbon fiber mast and boom by Rondal on the move to Royal Huisman Amsterdam. Last week Nilaya has departed from her construction hall at the builder’s Vollenhove facility. Exploring all the options for a luxurious performance cruiser also capable of podium finishes at superyacht regattas, the team made full design studies for the yacht in both carbon and aluminum using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to optimize hull shape and balance. Royal Huisman used a Featherlight™ method, an evolution of nearly 60 years of aluminum yacht-building experience melded with the latest carbon technology, providing her owners the best of both materials for a no-compromise yacht. <iframe width=560 height=315 src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/tNEPsHprwug title=YouTube video player frameborder=0 allow=accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share allowfullscreen></iframe>“While the new Nilaya is meant to take the owners world cruising, they also asked for a boat with all the ‘good habits’ of their previous racer, meaning responsiveness and excellent handling. Alustar aluminum is the right material for an advanced, quality superyacht for global cruising. It deals with noise better and is a better choice for cruising in comfort to remote locations. However, we also thought it was possible to build a lighter aluminum high-performance superyacht. Royal Huisman was not afraid to invest in research to explore and develop all manner of innovative weight-saving possibilities. They really chased the details,” says Nigel Ingram of MCM Newport who serves as the owners’ project manager on the build.Royal Huisman is a Dutch shipyard established in 1884 in Ronduite, building and refitting custom luxury sailing and motor yachts at its shipyard in Vollenhove, the Netherlands.Credits: Tom van Oossanen/Royal Huisman; Royal Huisman YouTube
February 6, 2023
The 74m Lady Jorgia has been sold by Edmiston's in-house deal – the broker Alex Busher represented the buyer and the seller. After the sale the yacht was renamed Andrea. Andrea was launched by Italian CRN in 2017. She features a bottom-glassed pool, a spa, and spacious foredeck bow, which can be converted into a dancefloor or set-up for a dinner setting plus a large upper deck aft that connects smoothly with the main inside dining area. Her exterior was made by Zuccon International Project, while the interiors are the work of Winch Design. In 2017 she got the Best Layout award for her category at the World Yacht Trophies 2017.The 74m superyacht can accommodate 12 guests across eight cabins, including an exceptional master suite with huge windows offering panoramic views from bed and a private terrace forward.Thanks to two Caterpillar engines Andrea can reach a maximum speed of 16.5 knots and a cruise at 15 knots. She will be available for charter with Edmiston. Credits: Edmiston; Yacht Harbour archive
February 6, 2023
Silent-Yachts has launched the very first solar electric catamaran Silent 60 at its own shipyard in Fano, Italy, which has been acquired in spring 2022.“We are happy that our Italian shipyard performs really well. It was the right decision to purchase and develop it in a way that is in line with our corporate long-term strategy,” said Michael Köhler, Founder and CEO of Silent-Yachts. The first Silent 60 has four guest cabins on the lower deck (the series allows up to six cabins + one crew cabin), including a spacious master suite in the bow. There are numerous social areas on board, including an airy main saloon, an aft cockpit, a cozy bow area and a flybridge. Thanks to a draft of under 1m the Silent 60 can access shallow bays, a crucial consideration for cruising grounds in the Caribbean and South East Asia. Two swimming platforms in the stern can be extended on owner’s request to carry a pair of electric jet skis. The lifting hydraulic platform between the two platforms can carry a 4-meter tender.“The Silent-Yachts catamarans are built to last and they are reliable ocean going vessels,” says Michael Köhler. “They require virtually no maintenance especially compared to yachts with traditional combustion engines. In addition, warranties for batteries and solar panels are for 8 and 25 years respectively.”The recently launched Silent 60 is equipped with 2 x 250 kW engines for the maximum speed of 14 knots. The catamaran carries 42 solar panels for 16 kWp of solar energy to power two electric motors of 2 x 250 kW. Backed up by a battery capacity of up to 210 kWh, she will be able to cruise efficiently with zero emissions solely on solar power for up to 100 nautical miles a day for weeks.Silent-Yachts is producing the world’s first fully solar-sustainable oceangoing production catamaran yachts. They are powered exclusively by solar energy and capable of cruising up to 100 miles per day. In 2009, founders Heike and Michael Köhler, who have spent 6,000 days cruising more than 75,000 miles all around the world, launched the Solarwave 46, the first fully self-sufficient blue-water catamaran after years of testing solar-powered propulsion, and they have been building boats ever since. Credits: Alessandro Guerrieri/Silent-Yachts
February 6, 2023
boot will be at its Düsseldorf home port from 20 to 28 January 2024. The organizers shared the number from with year’s show – nearly 237,000 visitors from over 100 countries and more than 1,500 exhibitors from 68 nations on 220,000 sq. m in 16 exhibition halls, have been registering at the exhibition, which was held from 21 to 29 January.“Despite the difficult general conditions, boot 2023 has written a success story. We would not have dreamt of this outcome. boot has finally reached calm waters and is once again firmly anchored in its Düsseldorf home port. The successful comeback has demonstrated that trade fairs ‘made in Düsseldorf’ have an international appeal,” reports Wolfram Diener, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. Visitors from all over Germany, especially experts from the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, UK, Turkey and Spain used the trade fair to find out about the latest innovations in the sector. Numerous manufacturers and prospective buyers from the USA, South America and Asia made the trip to Düsseldorf again and enriched the industry get-together with innovative products, inspirations and in-depth knowledge transfer.Also attracting a lot of attention was the new sustainability forum ‘blue innovation dock’ at boot 2023. Here industry, policy-makers and international associations met for high-level dialogue and exchange. Philip Easthill, Secretary General of the Association of the European Boating Industry from Brussels, comments: “The industry has already made great strides in the development of sustainable materials, propulsion systems and marinas and we will be able to support them intensively in the future with the blue innovation dock”.Credits: boot Düsseldorf
February 3, 2023
Damen Yachting has delivered the support vessel YS 7512, now known as Abeona after a Roman goddess of outward journeys and safe returns. The order for the vessel, supposedly from Jeff Bezos, but the information wasn’t confirmed, was received in 2019. The model features customized in-house design based on the YS 75 model in the Damen Yacht Support range. The project on behalf of the client was supervised by Wright Maritime Group. In January Abeona arrived in Gibraltar after successful sea trials in December. The 75-meter vessel has a beam of 12 meters and a volume of approximately 1,900 GT. She features a helicopter hangar with a D14 value, has state-of-the-art environmental equipment and capacity for containerised emergency relief support equipment together with a wide range of specialized marine gear and tenders. The vessel will be able to accommodate up to 45 people including crew, specialist staff and guests.She has a top speed of 18 knots and a range of 5,000 miles at 15 knots. Damen Yachting, a division within the Damen Shipyards Group, was created in 2019. The division combines the pedigree and heritage of Amels yachts with a growing portfolio of SeaXplorer yachts and Yacht Support vessels.Credits: Damen Yachting
February 3, 2023