Yacht maker Ferretti raises HK$1.9b in Hong Kong IPO

[SYDNEY] Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti Group has priced its shares at HK$22.88 each, the lower end of its proposed range, to raise HK$1.9 billion (S$329.2 million) in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), Refinitiv's IFR service reported on Friday (Mar 25).

The company sold 83.58 million shares, or around 25 per cent of its total equity capital, valuing the company at just under US$1 billion. A 15 per cent greenshoe option is also part of the offer.

Braving choppy markets after a failed IPO attempt in Milan in 2019, it had set an indicative price range of HK$21.82-HK$28.24 per share for the float.

The stock market debut is scheduled for Mar 31.

Ferretti, which counts British fashion designer Jimmy Choo and former football star David Beckham among its customers, is a market leader for yachts with price tags from 4 million euros to more than 20 million.

The group is controlled by Chinese conglomerate Weichai Group and Pietro Ferrari, son of the eponymous luxury sports car company's founder Enzo Ferrari, owns 11 per cent. Ferretti produces under brands including Pershing and Riva and owns 6 shipyards in Italy.

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Five Chinese cornerstone investors - Sunshine Insurance, Sanya Development, Hainan Free Trade Port Fund, Hainan Financial and Haifa Holding - have invested a total of US$129.5 million.

There is a six-month lock-up on the cornerstone investors.

The IPO was carried out while Hong Kong experiences major market volatility as a result of the Russian and Ukraine war, rising global interest rates and ongoing fallout from constant Chinese regulatory change.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is down 6.2 per cent for the year and 3.4 per cent for March, according to Refinitiv data.

Ferretti said it was confident the luxury boat industry would withstand any global economic downturn created by unfolding geopolitical events.

It had said that it expected the value of the global yacht market to grow on average 7 per cent a year, reaching 27 billion euros in 2025, with demand strengthening particularly in the Asia Pacific region. REUTERS