OPINION: Sanlorenzo’s flotation comes in a tough year for launches

This year has proved to be far from vintage for initial public offerings (IPOs) – with mixed results, but Sanlorenzo is ending the year on a high.

Its shares were listed at €16 each on the Italian stock exchange, the Borsa Italiana, last week. The price, which provided a total market capitalisation of €552m, and a capital increase of €72m, must have been welcome news for Massimo Perotti, Sanlorenzo’s executive chairman and majority shareholder.

In fact Perotti said in a statement to the Borsa Italiana: “Today, we reached an important milestone and we are very proud of it. We have achieved such an important goal as the listing on the stock exchange and I would like to thank all our collaborators who supported us during this journey. The listing on the Stock Exchange represents a fundamental step for Sanlorenzo, and a new starting point for growth and development on international markets.”

Total market capitalisation of €552m

Meanwhile, a less-happy outcome was experienced by fellow Italian superyacht builder Ferretti Group in October. The company torpedoed its plans to list 30% of its share capital on Borsa Italiana in an IPO. It had planned to list the shares at between €2.5 and €3.7 each – which would have valued the company at more than €1bn. Ferretti now plans to sell part of the company to a single, as-yet unnamed, investor.

Sanlorenzo deserves real credit for successfully getting away. As we pointed out in October, launching an IPO is a lot riskier than launching a yacht.