Karel Komárek has taken Ferretti to court as KKCG Maritime, the Czech billionaire’s 23 per cent holding vehicle in the Italian shipbuilder, filed suit at the Civil Court of Bologna on Wednesday, seeking the annulment of the resolutions passed at Ferretti’s 14 May annual general meeting.

The Prague-based group is also seeking an emergency injunction to suspend the effect of said resolutions while the court hears the case, including the appointment of the Weichai-backed board chaired by Tan Ning and the installation of Stassi Anastassov as chief executive. The new board would have its decision-making powers paused if granted.

A person close to KKCG told SuperyachtNews on the day of the AGM that the group's position then was one of waiting for the Italian government and the market authority to act. Komárek has taken the matter into his own hands.

KKCG’s case rests on the contention that Ferretti International Holding (FIH), the Hong Kong vehicle through which Chinese state-controlled Weichai holds 39.5 per cent of the company, had its voting rights suspended under Italy’s Golden Power regime at the time of the AGM, because Weichai had failed to notify Rome of its holding as required by Decree-Law 21 of 2012. Had FIH’s votes not been counted, KKCG argues that its own slate would have won. The court is asked to order a recount and to give effect to the result, installing the KKCG-proposed board.

The filing is the first time the strategic-classification argument has been put to a judge. Ferretti has been formally recognised as a holder of strategic assets by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in three resolutions dated 15 January 2025, 9 February 2026 and 8 April 2026.

KKCG argues the classification extends beyond Ferretti Security Division, the in-house unit that builds dual-use vessels for the Italian Navy. Ferretti’s industrial capabilities and know-how, the pleading reads, “may have clear security and defence relevance by their nature, irrespective of whether they are held within a specific defence-focused division”.

The Bologna filing also puts firm numbers behind the concerted-action allegation that KKCG’s lawyers raised at the AGM itself. FIH’s slate was backed by 15 shareholders understood to be close to one another and holding 49.74 per cent of Ferretti’s share capital, according to the claim.

KKCG’s slate drew on 164 shareholders representing 45.11 per cent. ISS and Glass Lewis, the two global proxy advisers whose recommendations institutional investors typically follow, both backed the KKCG list. The action specifically alleges an undisclosed shareholders’ agreement between FIH and Swiss-based AdTech Advanced Technologies, one of several Chinese-linked entities to have built positions in Ferretti in the weeks before the AGM through purchases sized below the 3 per cent Consob disclosure threshold.

The same acting-in-concert allegation, if upheld, would carry consequences in Hong Kong, where Ferretti maintains its primary listing. Parties found to have acted in concert above the 30 per cent threshold are required under the Hong Kong takeover code to launch a mandatory bid for the rest of the company.

Ferretti responded to the filing in a statement to the market on Wednesday, saying it will “safeguard its rights by seeking appropriate legal advice” and confirming its corporate bodies were “fully operational”. The company adds that the lawsuit “has no impact on the company’s operations,” though it did not engage directly with the substance of the Golden Power or concerted-action claims.

KKCG ultimately argues that allowing Ferretti to continue under a board whose appointment is being challenged creates significant legal and governance uncertainty. Where sensitive maritime technologies, know-how, data and commercial relationships are involved, “any unmanaged access, transfer or integration of such information into decision-making processes could have consequences that are difficult, or impossible, to reverse”.

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