Machinery maker Shandong Heavy Industry Group has sealed a deal to take a 75 percent stake in debt-laden Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti, the latest in a series of Chinese acquisitions of European brands. Chinese companies, acquiring top brands as a shortcut to global success, have been taking advantage of Europe's financial woes by picking up assets on the cheap.
Tuesday's deal, the first Chinese take-over of a top Italian yachtmaker, also reflected the growing demand for luxury in mainland China, where new marinas sprinkle the Southern coast. "The deal would help Ferretti better tap the 7 billion euro global yacht industry and meet growing Chinese demand for luxury goods for the coming five to 10 years," Ferretti Group Chairman Norberto Ferretti said in a statement. "China is one of the most rapidly developing countries for the yachting sector and has great potential," the companies said in a joint statement released at a signing ceremony in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan.
Ferretti's key management team, headquarters and production bases will remain in Italy, the companies said. Shandong Heavy said it plans to build yachts in China for the domestic market. "China offers an opportunity to our companies, especially when our economy is not going well," Anton Francesco Albertoni, head of Italian industry body UCINA, told Reuters. Italy has long dominated the yachting industry, which contributes 3.36 billion euros to the country's economy.
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