Superyacht maker Ferretti presses ahead with $1 bln HK listing despite choppy markets-sources (updated)

Sanlorenzo SpA

17/03/2022 14:49

* Shares in luxury yacht makers hit by war, now recovering
    * Ferretti downplayed conflict impact on earnings
    * Aims to raise up to $300 mln selling new shares-sources

 (Adds details, graphic)
    By Scott Murdoch and Valentina Za
    SYDNEY/MILAN, March 17 (Reuters) - Italian luxury yacht
maker Ferretti Group is expected to kick off on Monday the
process to list its shares in Hong Kong, aiming for a valuation
of around $1 billion as it sells a 25% stake, two sources close
to the matter said.
    Ferretti, controlled by Chinese conglomerate Weichai Group,
is pushing ahead with its initial public offering (IPO) despite
the conflict in Ukraine rattling financial markets and hitting
shares in the superyacht sector.
    The pre-marketing phase ends on Friday and the company,
which ditched a previous IPO attempt in Milan in 2019, could
still change its plans depending on the market.
    Ferretti has sought to play down the impact of international
sanctions against Russian oligarchs on its business. It has said
that countries involved in the conflict account for less than 3%
of its revenues and it has no exposure to the largest
mega-yachts more likely to be targeted by sanctions.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2S302P
    Shares in listed Italian rivals such as Sanlorenzo  SNL.MI 
and The Italian Sea Group  TISGR.MI  plunged in the wake of
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, shedding between a quarter and a
third of their value, but have cut losses in the past 10 days. 
    "The supportive environment enjoyed by the yachting industry
over the past 12 months will continue over the mid-term,"
Berenberg said in a recent note, adding the share slide provided
a good entry point.
    Ferretti met with investors and analysts over the past two
weeks and it is slated to launch the institutional offering on
Monday, broadening it to retail investors the following day, one
of the sources said.
    Having met interest including from Western names and
securing support from cornerstone investors that could make up
about 60% of the deal, it aims to raise $300 million selling
newly-issued shares for an overall valuation of around $1.2
billion, the source said.
    A second source pointed to a $900 million valuation.
    Both sources said shares are expected to start trading at
the end of March. IPOs in Hong Kong normally take around four
days with another five days before the trading debut.
    Ferretti is expected to use the proceeds to expand its range
of yachts while also developing services such as yacht brokerage
and chartering.
    The 54-year-old company, which runs six shipyards in Italy,
owns brands such as Pershing, Riva and Wally, in addition to
Ferretti Yachts.
    Ferretti filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the end
of December, with investment bank CICC as sole sponsor as well
as joint global coordinator together with BNP Paribas and Intesa
Sanpaolo.
    Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained more than 5% on Thursday,
adding to Wednesday's 9% surge driven by the prospect of fresh
Chinese economic stimulus.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N2VA06E

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Share performance of Ferretti's Milan-listed rivals since Feb.
23    https://tmsnrt.rs/3u56HoH
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 (Additional reporting by Federico Maccioni in Milan; Editing by
Keith Weir and Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((valentina.za@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9526;))