If we were to make a comparison with the world of soccer (forgive us!) it is like Juventus’ later successful attempt to acquire Cristiano Ronaldo. The Juventus in question is the Ferretti Group and the Ronaldo in this case is named Wally. You got it right. As in the most absurd soccer market bombshells, there is a negotiation, first secret and now public, that has been quietly going on for months. As the Group’s CEO, Alberto Galassi told Corriere della Sera, “I hope to take Wally, we have been negotiating for months. We believe in it a lot because it is an extraordinary brand, synergistic with the other brands of the Ferretti Group, but it is a very complicated operation.”
You got it right, the Ferretti Group, which since 2012 has been controlled by Chinese majority shareholder Shig-Weichai, is targeting the sailing world and one of its most exclusive brands (and which has signed so many motor models anyway). However, the negotiation, whose figures at stake seem to be over 30 million euros, is not easy to bring to fruition, as Galassi himself confirms, again from the pages of the Corriere: “The operation is complicated because the Wally brand has a troubled history from the legal point of view,” Galassi concludes. “With Luca Bassani we are in full agreement, and if we should succeed in finalizing the agreement we intend to collaborate with him.
Currently, the Ferretti Group produces the Pershing, Itama, Mochi Craft, Riva, CRN and Custom Line brands and is one of the undisputed leaders in boating in Italy.
