Luxury yacht maker Italian Sea Group secures Armani's backing in IPO

GC Rieber Shipping ASA

17/05/2021 09:34

MILAN, May 17 (Reuters) - Luxury yacht maker The Italian Sea
Group said it had secured backing from Giorgio Armani and
Belgian pharmaceutical entrepreneur Marc Coucke as it prepared
to list its shares on the Milan bourse.
    The Italian Sea Group said Milanese fashion group Giorgio
Armani SpA and Coucke's family investment company Alychlo NV
would each separately invest in the IPO. 
    The company did not disclose the size of the individual
investments but said Armani and Coucke would eventually hold a
combined stake of 15% in the group following a capital increase
being carried out as part of the bourse listing. 
    The group will offer newly issued shares worth around 50
million euros in the IPO as well as existing shares that will be
sold by GC Holding SpA, a vehicle controlled by Chief Executive
and founder Giovanni Costantino. GC Holding will remain as the
majority shareholder in the yacht manufacturer, it said. 
    The Italian Sea Group will use proceeds from the listing to
focus on building yachts with a length of up to 100 metres, to
sign partnerships with luxury brands and to increase production
capacity including by buying European shipyards.
    Coucke founded over-the-counter medicines group Omega
Pharma, which he sold to U.S. company Perrigo in late 2014 for
3.6 billion euros ($4.4 billion). Since then he's made small
investment in healthcare companies including Fagron, Mithra and
MDxHealth, with a focus on fighting cancer.
    ($1 = 0.8239 euros)
    

 (Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; editing by Valentina Za and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
 ((elisa.anzolin@thomsonreuters.com; 0039 0266129692;))