Giovanna Vitelli, this is why Azimut/Benetti has opened its capital to the Arabs

The great leap from a family business – not in terms of philosophy and DNA, but in terms of size, which is now considerable, having reached one billion in turnover – to a global group. There is this on the horizon of the new course of Azimut/Benetti and in this vision we must also read the entry into the capital of a new partner, indeed a global one, namely the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.

Giovanna Vitelli, who recently took over the presidency from her father Paolo, the founder of the group with headquarters in Avigliana, the world’s leading superyacht manufacturer, speaks of the Public Investment Fund as a “strategic partner in line with our history of minority shareholders in the company’s capital”.

“A story that began in the 1990s, with a Benetti customer from Hong Kong who fell in love with the company and who was a gateway to excellence on the market that was still closed to yachting. Then Intesa Sanpaolo, which opened up its capital to the country system. The bank left, alas, in 2009, one minute before the world fell with the Lehman crash, we bought back the shares and then Tamburi Investment arrived. A fil rounge of partners who, depending on the moment, have brought something to the company with a minimum common denominator, that of not asking us to make speculative financial transactions”.

Today the shareholding structure still sees the majority firmly in the hands of the Vitelli family, who leads the group together with the managers with a 59% share. So, Riyadh’s sovereign wealth fund with 33% and Tamburi diluting his package and going down to 8%. “We were very pleased that they wanted to stay on board, continuing to place their trust in us,” says Vitelli.

Obviously, the curiosity is for the new partner. “We have received many offers, from different suitors over the years. Because the nautical sector is back in the spotlight, we are doing well, the product is a winner, we are leaders and therefore we are the coveted gem. The will was to discard the typical logic of investment funds, therefore speculative, and to favor that of a sovereign wealth fund, which looks to the long term. Which is the one in which we recognize ourselves. In the case of Pif, they must diversify from oil and prepare the country to have other forms of investment. They’re investing heavily in high-tech, luxury. And then, it is not negligible that despite being a global investor, they want to develop nautical tourism in their geographical area”. There is talk of building new ports, navy. Is Azimut/Benetti interested? “We are not interested in real estate, but in the fact that the new marinas will obviously host boats”:

The entry of a fund also brings an injection of liquidity. But Giovanna Vitelli shifts the focus. “The focal point is another. We find ourselves reaching a key step in the group. Azimut/Benetti was born as a purely family business, with a founder at the forefront, who brought the so-called pioneering phase to a critical size, which reached one billion in turnover, which has thousands of employees, a huge and complex product range. There is also a generational shift, which concerns me and which concerns the manager. We are ready for the global leap, which we had already covered with our own strength, an ally like Pif can help us. I’m not just talking about outlet markets, but also about corporate culture, in terms of governance, thinking, processes and possible synergies. Their investments in high technology and sustainable mobility are very interesting”.

The operation is still ongoing, the closing must wait for the antitrust procedure to be completed. “I think it could be in late spring,” says the president. Obviously, the composition of the board of directors will change, with the entry of a proportionate representation of the sovereign wealth fund. The management will not change, says Vitelli. “The management of the company is in our hands, the management of the product remains ours, but there will be a contribution of strategic synergies and corporate culture from Pif”.

We still have to deal with the speech of the Stock Exchange. A theme that has historically seen a certain reluctance on the part of Azimut/Benetti. Could growth lead to an eventual listing? “In the future, who can tell? The quotation is not in the crosshairs today, but the time may also be ripe to make reasoning of this type. If there is a reason to do so, we will evaluate”.