Ads
By
Reuters API
Published
May 17, 2021
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Luxury yacht maker Italian Sea Group secures Armani's backing in IPO

By
Reuters API
Published
May 17, 2021

Luxury yacht maker The Italian Sea Group said it had secured backing from Giorgio Armani and Belgian pharmaceutical entrepreneur Marc Coucke as it prepared to list its shares on the Milan bourse.


Italian designer Giorgio Armani appears at the end of his Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2016 fashion show for Giorgio Armani Prive in Paris, France, January 26, 2016 - Reuters



The Italian Sea Group said Milanese fashion group Giorgio Armani SpA and Coucke's family investment company Alychlo NV would each separately invest in the IPO.

The company did not disclose the size of the individual investments but said Armani and Coucke would eventually hold a combined stake of 15% in the group following a capital increase being carried out as part of the bourse listing.

The group will offer newly issued shares worth around 50 million euros in the IPO as well as existing shares that will be sold by GC Holding SpA, a vehicle controlled by Chief Executive and founder Giovanni Costantino. GC Holding will remain as the majority shareholder in the yacht manufacturer, it said.

The Italian Sea Group will use proceeds from the listing to focus on building yachts with a length of up to 100 metres, to sign partnerships with luxury brands and to increase production capacity including by buying European shipyards.

Coucke founded over-the-counter medicines group Omega Pharma, which he sold to U.S. company Perrigo in late 2014 for 3.6 billion euros ($4.4 billion). Since then he's made small investment in healthcare companies including Fagron, Mithra and MDxHealth, with a focus on fighting cancer.
 

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.