Tomorrow, Thursday, May 14, the Ferretti shareholders’ meeting will be held, which will likely prove decisive for the future of the Forlì-based luxury yacht builder. Shareholders will be called to choose the winning list (which will obtain eight seats on the board, out of a total of nine) between the one presented by the majority shareholder with 39 percent of the shares, the Chinese state-owned company Weichai, and the one proposed by the Swiss-Czech fund Kkcg, which owns 23.2 percent.
NOT ONLY BANK OF CHINA: WHO ARE THE NEW CHINESE SHAREHOLDERS OF FERRETTI
According to reconstructions by Mf-Milano Finanza, several Chinese entities or those linked to Weichai have recently purchased Ferretti shares with the aim of supporting the main shareholder’s list at the May 14 meeting. All these buyers have kept below the 3 percent threshold of the company’s capital so as not to trigger the obligation to notify Consob, the Italian authority that oversees the stock market.
Ferretti is listed both in Milan, since June 2023, and in Hong Kong, China.
The Bank of China, one of the main Chinese state banks, has purchased Ferretti shares reaching a 1.9 percent stake. Then there is Wealth Strategy, a Hong Kong investment management holding, with about 1 percent, and the exporting company Yanjan International with 0.8 percent.
More significant was the move by the Swiss engineering consulting company AdTech Advanced Technologies, which rose to 2.8 percent. As stated in a 2022 Ferretti document, AdTech’s founder, Julius Kiss, “has collaborated with the Weichai group for over twenty years and has invested in some Weichai activities/subsidiaries, such as Weichai Power,” the unit specialized in machinery for vehicles.
THE PROXY ADVISORS ON KKCG’S SIDE
On the other hand, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, two of the best-known proxy advisors – that is, companies specialized in providing voting recommendations to investors of listed companies – have expressed their support for Kkcg’s list which – among other things – confirms Alberto Galassi as CEO of Ferretti and proposes Karel Komárek, the Czech entrepreneur who chairs the fund, as chairman.
According to Institutional Shareholder Services, Kkcg’s list is “the best option to ensure Ferretti’s strategic and managerial continuity.”
AND THE GOLDEN POWER?
Moreover, today Kkcg has formally notified the government of its concerns about the increase in shares held by Chinese entities or linked to Weichai in Ferretti’s capital. The fund spoke of “concerns regarding compliance with applicable regulations, including possible failures to notify obligations related to ownership and control of a company operating in sectors of strategic importance for national security and defense (golden power).”
The Italian government has already intervened with special powers in dealings between various Italian companies and their Chinese shareholders: the most well-known case is that of the tire company Pirelli with Sinochem.
GALASSI’S PLAN FOR FERRETTI
If Kkcg’s list prevails and the CEO is confirmed, Galassi has already outlined Ferretti’s future projects: the company will focus on developing the Security & Defence division (currently marginal compared to total revenue), on new mergers and acquisitions at the European level, and on the production of large yachts (thirty meters and above), with a buyback of shares and a long-term incentive program for executives.
Galassi also said that, if confirmed, this will be his last three-year term leading Ferretti.
