Yachtmaker Ferretti braves choppy waters with IPO valuing it at up to $1.2 billion

By Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti S.p.A launched a Hong Kong initial public offering on Monday that values the company at up to $1.2 billion, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed, going ahead despite volatility in global equity markets.

Ferretti plans to sell 83.58 million shares, or around 25% of its total equity capital, to raise up to $301 million, according to the term sheet, in an IPO that faces choppy markets due to the war in Ukraine and rising U.S. interest rates.

The listing will value the company in a range of $932 million-$1.2 billion. Ferretti, controlled by Chinese conglomerate Weichai Group, declined to comment.

Five Chinese cornerstone investors have subscribed for $129.5 million worth of stock in the issue, according to the term sheet.

Ferretti has sought to play down the impact on its business of international sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

It has said that countries involved in the conflict account for less than 3% of its revenue and it has no exposure to the largest mega-yachts more likely to be targeted by sanctions.

The shares will be priced at HK$21.82 to HK$28.24 each, the term sheet showed.

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.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has see-sawed in the past week but remains down nearly 9% for the year.

The value of Hong Kong IPOs in the first quarter tumbled to $837.4 million from $11 billion at the same time in 2021, Refinitiv data showed.

The final price of Ferretti’s shares is due to be set on Friday and the stock will start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 31.

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