Czech group Kkcg launches partial takeover bid on Ferretti
The aim is to increase the shareholding from 14.5 per cent to 29.9 per cent of the yacht bigwig's share capital
The fight for Ferretti yachts is heating up ahead of next May's shareholders' meeting. The Czech Kkcg Maritime group is launching a voluntary partial tender offer for up to 52,132,861 Ferretti shares, with the aim of increasing its stake from 14.5% to 29.9% of the company's share capital. Upon completion of the offer, explains a note, Kkcg Maritime intends to exercise its voting rights in support of the election of candidates to the board of directors that it will propose in the context of the forthcoming shareholders' meeting of the nautical company.
Kkcg Maritime is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kkcg, a European group that invests in companies with the aim of accompanying them in innovation processes and business development, founded by Czech entrepreneur and philanthropist Karel Komarek. It has been a shareholder of Ferretti since its listing in 2023 and has launched the offer "in order to increase its shareholding, while offering other shareholders the opportunity to partially monetise their investment, in a context of low liquidity of the stock".
The offer is not aimed at delisting Ferretti shares and, in any case, will not cause Kkcg Maritime to exceed the 30% threshold (which would trigger the obligation to launch a mandatory tender offer). Under the terms of the offer, participating shareholders will receive €3.50 per share in cash (equivalent to approximately HK$31.71) on a cum-dividend basis. The consideration represents a premium of 21.3% over the official undisturbed price on 11 December 2025 on Euronext Milan (i.e. the last trading day before the start of the recent series of share acquisitions by Ferretti's largest shareholder) and 21.9% over the closing price on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the same date.
The total maximum countervalue of the offer amounts to EUR 182,465,014. Should the number of shares tendered exceed the maximum number under the offer, the allocation will be made on a pro rata basis with Kkcg Maritime purchasing from each tendering shareholder the same percentage of shares tendered.
Currently, the Ferretti Group's main shareholder is the Chinese Weichai Group, through its subsidiary Ferretti International Holding. Weichai holds the most significant portion of the company's share capital, amounting to approximately 37.5 % of the total shares, making it the major shareholder of the Italian nautical group.
