It has been in the air for 12 months now. It is one of the most strategically important operations in the nautical sector in recent times, that of the partnership between Sanlorenzo – the world’s second superyacht manufacturer – and Nautor’s Swan – the cult sailing brand. The due diligence has been done, the respective presidents Massimo Perotti and Leonardo Ferragamo have “sniffed each other out” for a long time, presumably they could also have found the necessary meeting points, but the announcement of the signature has not yet arrived.
Perotti, guest of the Viareggio-Bastia-Viareggio, the sailing regatta that re-proposes the classic motorboating in a sustainable way, did not reveal much. In a public meeting he spoke about himself, his entrepreneurial history, revealing previously unpublished details of his rise (from 40 million in 2005 to “almost 900 million today”) and explaining his vision (optimistic about the future of boating, “parents send your children to work in this sector”), but not about the Nautor’s Swan dossier.
Since Sanlorenzo is a listed company, its president and CEO cannot go outside the box, he must respect the rules, under penalty of sanctions from Consob. It is no mystery, however, that if Perotti and Ferragamo were to sign, in terms of governance there would be a position as vice president of Sanlorenzo for Ferragamo, as a new shareholder of the same group, while both would maintain the presidency of their respective companies.
While waiting for a clearing up, here is a surprise move and a dream. The first concerns the recent appointment of Marco Viti as strategic consultant of the Power Yacht Division of Nautor’s Swan. Viti was at Sanlorenzo for 31 years, joining the board of directors and chairing the Yacht division, before resigning in 2022, apparently not in love and agreement with Perotti. How should we interpret, then, his appointment by Ferragamo, at such a delicate moment in the operation to seal the partnership with Sanlorenzo?, industry observers ask.
As for the dream, it concerns the president of Sanlorenzo. “If we were to get to the point of signing the agreement, my dream would be to bring the construction of the maxi Swans here to Viareggio. Important boats that would find in the capital of world sailing, because this is Viareggio, the necessary knowledge to be able to come to light in compliance with the canons of beauty and quality of their brand. For me it would also be a dream because I started right in Viareggio to take my first steps in sailing with Azimut by Paolo Vitelli and subsequently I launched my entrepreneurial challenge again in Viareggio with Sanlorenzo, a brand that the founder Giovanni Iannetti had brought here from Limite sull’Arno
