LVMH, the French luxury brand, has set its sights on Riva, the historic Sarnico shipyard now owned by the Ferretti Group. This is not the first time that Bernard Arnault, founder and CEO of LVMH, has set his sights on the nautical world. He had previously tried with Princess, Britain’s Plymouth-based luxury boat builder, which was acquired and then returned a year ago to the hands of KPS Capital Partners, an American private equity fund.
LVMH sets its sights on Riva
According to rumors circulating in the press, LVMH have made contacts with the Weichai Group, a Chinese state-owned company that has held a majority stake in the Ferretti Group since 2012 with almost 40 percent of the capital, and some Italian partners. It seems that the French strategy is to scale up the Ferretti Group and then segment it and subsequently enhance the value of the brands of greatest interest, such as Riva. According to investment bank Intermonte, Riva is “the brand with the highest value within Ferretti’s portfolio in terms of product positioning and price, as well as the possibility of extending the brand to additional activities beyond yachting.” It should be noted that for the past several years the brand has been expanding into activities well beyond yachting, with a line of gifts and apparel, lounges, bars and clubs around the world, and a recent real estate project in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Luxury (re)discovers boating
There is great movement in the boating world at this time in history. There are many premium shipyards that are changing hands, with acquisitions coming from both investment funds and large luxury groups. Some recent examples are Cantieri del Pardo, acquired by the Calzedonia group in the summer of 2023, and Sunseeker, the iconic British builder of high-performance luxury motor yachts, which a few days ago, during the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, announced that it had been acquired by the Italian fund Faro Alternative Investments, in partnership with Lionheart capital, a Miami-based investment firm, and with a club deal organized by Orienta.
James Barbaro
