Tisg: Azimut Benetti is out of the bidding race. Only Sri remains in the running
The bid submitted by the Turin-based group remains on the commissioners’ table. The unknown factor of Palumbo has emerged, as he is said to have put forward a proposal
The situation regarding The Italian Sea Group appears to be heading, albeit with a few uncertainties, towards the company being sold to Sri Global, the investment holding company controlled by Giulio Gallazzi (52%) and Bernardo Vacchi (48 per cent), which has offered 220 million for all of TISG’s assets (plus an additional 40 million earmarked for investment). Meanwhile, Azimut Benetti, which had offered 210 million for the company (excluding, however, the shipyard in Turkey and the Celi joinery workshop), is taking a step back as regards the launch of a new round of bids.
Meanwhile, however, the Palumbo nautical group of Naples, according to a report by the Tuscan business newspaper T24, is said to have unexpectedly submitted a bid of 221 million euros during the night between Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th. However, this bid was submitted after the deadline for the competitive tender process launched by Tisg had passed, and it appears to lack a security deposit and does not relate to the entire business.
It will now be up to the judges of the insolvency division of the Court of Florence to decide whether to admit the case. Yesterday, however, a crucial hearing took place regarding the Tisg case in which, it appears, those same judges, in addition to having definitively ruled out the route of the share deal, separated the process concerning the part of Tisg up for sale – that is, the assets and staff – and the ‘bad company’ with its outstanding debts, which is heading towards an arrangement with creditors – the hearing for which has been set for 9 December (partly due to the need to submit additional documents). Furthermore, according to rumours, the court is said to have cast doubt on the legality of the dividends distributed by the group between 2023 and 2026. In addition, irregularities (to be verified) on the part of auditors and statutory auditors are said to have been identified.
As regards the sale of Tisg’s assets, however, a bidding round is due to open on 16 November, to be managed directly by the court in the presence of a notary. To be admissible, bids must be no less than 2.5 per cent higher than the best offer. And this is where the Palumbo factor comes into play. In fact, the acquisition proposals relating solely to the La Spezia asset, put forward by Fincantieri and Baglietto, are still on the table (though with no apparent chance of being considered).
As for Azimut, sources close to the company confirm that the ‘binding offer of 210 million remains’. However, a letter signed by Giovanna Vitelli, owner of the group, and addressed to TISG’s advisers and, for information, to the court-appointed administrators on 10 November, states that ‘despite the substantial costs incurred and the significant resources dedicated to Project George (i.e. the TISG transaction, editor’s note), Azimut Benetti will not take part in the “restructuring phase” announced by The Italian Sea Group”.
