Wise acquires Cantiere del Pardo

Alessia Argentieri
03 December 2020

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Wise Equity has bought a 60% stake in Italian yacht maker Cantiere del Pardo.

The vendors are CEO Fabio Planamente and president Gigi Servidati, who will retain the remainder and continue to lead the company.

The first rumours about a possible sale of Cantiere del Pardo to a private equity fund started to circulate in July 2020. At the beginning of November, the Italian press reported that the company had hired Mediobanca as an adviser to run the sale, which had attracted several private equity firms, including Wise.

The GP invested in the company via Wisequity V, which closed on its €260m hard-cap in July 2019. The fund targets Italian family-owned mid-market companies that operate in niche B2B sectors, with enterprise values in the €20-70m bracket. It acquires majority stakes and deploys equity tickets in the €5-20m range.

This is the third deal inked by the fund, following its acquisition of Fimotec, a telecoms cable manufacturer, and its purchase of Vittoria, a producer of high-end bicycle tires.

With Wise's support, Cantiere del Pardo plans to consolidate its market position and expand its presence into new segments of the yacht production market. The company is also considering possible add-ons with the aim of building an acquisition platform, following its recent purchase of Netherlands-based yacht specialist VanDutch.

Company
Established in 1973 and headquartered in Forlì, Cantiere del Pardo specialises in designing and manufacturing yachts. Its brands include Grand Soleil Yachts, Pardo Yachts and VanDutch.

The company generates EBITDA of around €7m from revenues of €58m, of which around 75% comes from outside Italy.

People
Wise Equity – Michele Semenzato (founding partner); Bruno Barago (investment manager).
Cantiere del Pardo – Fabio Planamente (CEO); Gigi Servidati (president).

Advisers
Equity – Cassiopea Partners (corporate finance); Simmons & Simmons (legal); Studio Spada Partners (tax); KPMG (financial due diligence).
Company – Mediobanca (corporate finance); Studio Legale Musumeci Altara Desana (legal).