Baglietto to buy Bertram
Argo Finanziaria, a holding company within Gavio Group has signed a preliminary agreement with Ferretti SpA for the acquisition of Bertram Yachts...…
Argo Finanziaria, a holding company within the Gavio Group, which owns the Baglietto brand, has announced it has signed a Letter of Intent with Ferretti SpA for the acquisition of Bertram. The takeover is expected to confirmed by the end of March, following appropriate due diligence of Bertam’s assets and definition of the conditions.
Established by Richard Bertram in 1960, Miami-based Bertram was a leading light of the U.S. boat building industry. Its boats were successful on the race circuit and hundreds of ‘Moppies’ (fast runabouts named after Bertram’s wife) were sold between the 1960s and ‘90s. The company was acquired by the Ferretti Group in 1998 and production re-focused on its sport fisherman models.
“I am very pleased with this acquisition,” says Beniamino Gavio, whose eponymous industrial group also owns the Cerri brand. “Bertram is the brand that is most similar to Baglietto as they share many common features: a family history characterised by legendary yachts, records broken and competitions won…”
The news came hard on the heels of the announcement that Baglietto, the Ferretti Group and Azimut-Benetti, which together represent around 60 per cent of turnover among Italian boat builders, have joined forces to reconsider the objectives and strategies of UCINA, the national association that represents Italy’s yachting industry.
The announcement came just days after Massimo Perotti, who heads up Sanlorenzo, stepped down as president of UCINA. The timing is no coincidence. Gavio pulled out of the association just before Perotti’s election and Azimut-Benetti was the only UCINA member to abstain from the vote for his election.
Gavio has declared his willingness to re-join UCINA if negotiations to refocus the association’s strategies are deemed successful. Otherwise, there is a risk that Baglietto, Azimut-Benetti and the Ferretti Group may set themselves up as a rival association, which would represent a dramatic schism in the industry and undermine UCINA’s credibility both in Italy and abroad.
Established by Richard Bertram in 1960, Miami-based Bertram was a leading light of the U.S. boat building industry. Its boats were successful on the race circuit and hundreds of ‘Moppies’ (fast runabouts named after Bertram’s wife) were sold between the 1960s and ‘90s. The company was acquired by the Ferretti Group in 1998 and production re-focused on its sport fisherman models.
“I am very pleased with this acquisition,” says Beniamino Gavio, whose eponymous industrial group also owns the Cerri brand. “Bertram is the brand that is most similar to Baglietto as they share many common features: a family history characterised by legendary yachts, records broken and competitions won…”
Beniamino Gavio Photo credit: Justin Ratcliffe
The news came hard on the heels of the announcement that Baglietto, the Ferretti Group and Azimut-Benetti, which together represent around 60 per cent of turnover among Italian boat builders, have joined forces to reconsider the objectives and strategies of UCINA, the national association that represents Italy’s yachting industry.
The announcement came just days after Massimo Perotti, who heads up Sanlorenzo, stepped down as president of UCINA. The timing is no coincidence. Gavio pulled out of the association just before Perotti’s election and Azimut-Benetti was the only UCINA member to abstain from the vote for his election.
Gavio has declared his willingness to re-join UCINA if negotiations to refocus the association’s strategies are deemed successful. Otherwise, there is a risk that Baglietto, Azimut-Benetti and the Ferretti Group may set themselves up as a rival association, which would represent a dramatic schism in the industry and undermine UCINA’s credibility both in Italy and abroad.
Profile links
Azimut / Benetti (Lusben Shipyard)
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