According to reports, Baltic Yachts has submitted a formal purchase offer to the bankruptcy officials overseeing Cantieri di Pisa.
Italian newspapers state that the Finland-based yacht and megayacht builder submitted the bid on June 7. In fact, they report, the offer exceeded €3 million (about $3.5 million). We reached out to Baltic Yachts for commentary, but a spokesperson declined to comment, citing the ongoing bid process. However, Giovandomenico Cardi, director of Navicelli, which manages the public lands upon which Cantieri di Pisa sits, confirmed the offer to the papers. He tells Pisa Today, “This company had already made numerous inspections and meetings with us and with all the staff, to whom it gave ample guarantees for jobs.”
In fact, Baltic Yachts inspected the site and met with workers over the course of two months, according to Il Tirenno newspaper. The paper quotes Cardi elaborating on the pending acquisition, too. “It is a marriage of principles,” he asserts. “On one hand, the world’s leading company in the luxury sailing sector, on the other one of the most important Italian nautical brands.” Il Tirenno adds that Baltic Yachts indicated it would absorb the remaining 24 Cantieri di Pisa workers. “Baltic Yachts has shown a serious and constructive approach,” Cardi states.
If the bid gains formal approval, Baltic Yachts would put an end to several tumultuous years for Cantieri di Pisa. The yard, established in 1945, shut down in 2010, during the global recession. Fellow yacht builder Mondomarine acquired it in 2015. But, Mondomarine laid off 30 employees there in March 2017, along with 70 at its own site in Savona. Mondomarine is currently in in bankruptcy liquidation, plus under investigation for financial irregularities. These include fraud, false accounting, and invoicing for non-existent transactions. While the Palumbo Group took over Mondomarine’s facilities in late 2017, under a rental agreement, it did not attempt to rent or acquire Cantieri di Pisa.
Baltic Yachts offers new builds as well as refit and repair. New construction, for both motoryachts and sailing yachts, occurs in Finland. Its most recent delivery is Pink Gin VI (above). Service, meanwhile, takes place in Palma de Mallorca. According to Il Tirenno, the builder wants to leverage its motoryacht production in Italy.
The bid now sits in the hands of the Court of Savona. The court has 60 days to approve and assign the property ownership.
Baltic Yachts is not guaranteed to succeed, though. Il Tirreno reports that another company, Tquest Holding, emerged last December. But, the bankruptcy court rejected the firm’s proposal in February.
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