Fincantieri acquires minority stake in Italian shipbuilder

The global shipbuilding and Italian state-owned group Fincantieri has acquired a minority stake in the Genova Industrie Navali (GIN) shipbuilding business. The transaction also includes an option for Fincantieri to buy a minority stake in the T Mariotti shipyard, a subsidiary of GIN which has a dedicated yacht-building arm, Mariotti Yachts.

The crux of this deal is about building cruise ships, but with both groups’ interest in the superyacht sector, the deal may result in developing new yacht projects. The Fincantieri-GIN deal has a wide brief centred on a cooperation agreement which covers new-builds, ship repair and outfitting.

As a group, GIN was formed in 2008 through the merger of two historical shipyards – T Mariotti and San Giorgio del Porto – but it also includes a number of other companies including the major ship repairer, Chantier Naval de Marseille, which operates three drydocks ranging from 250m-465m (820ft-1,526ft) in length.

In a statement Fincantieri said: “Its stake would allow GIN to achieve further financial strength, an increasingly important asset to face complex projects and to overcome market challenges, especially in the field of small and medium-sized luxury cruise ships construction.”

GIN group facilities in Genoa include five dry docks and through its network of partners and subsidiaries it has a strong presence in the cruise ship and superyacht market, primarily through the Mariotti shipyard.

No indication has been given of the size of the minority stake in GIN or what it might be in Mariotti if and when that purchase is made.

Mariotti has been involved with a number of expedition cruise ships for the Seabourn cruise company and these were going to be developed under a Mariotti-Damen joint venture, but the suggestion now is that it may proceed with a Fincantieri-Mariotti joint venture.

In terms of yachts, both Fincantieri and Mariotti have experience building large yachts up to and over 100m (328ft) in length. The latter now focuses on luxury cruise ships and superyachts and its past superyacht builds include two 54m (177ft) vessels, the Rahil and Sea Force One, and more recently the Fulk Al Salamah, which is understood to be in excess of 150m (492ft) and part of the Omani Royal Family’s yacht fleet, which also includes the 155m (509ft) Al Said.

For its part, Finantieri has built two yachts over 100m and is now marketing a new series of yachts called Griffin, launched in 2018, which offers sizes between 66m-99m (216ft-325ft).