The Lucca Tribunal has declared the bankruptcy of Perini Navi, the historical shipyard in Viareggio, the leader in the manufacture of sailing superyachts, founded 40 years ago by Fabio Perini.

The judges have blocked the restructuring plan for the 100-million euro debt, presented by the company’s owners, the Tabacchi family, through the company, Fenix. After the presentation of the voluntary arrangement, last May, the Lucca Tribunal allowed an extension to the beginning of 2021 to present a restructuring plan. But in the last few hours, the Tribunal has declared Perini Navi to be bankrupt and appointed Franco Della Santa to be Official Receiver for the company.

The strategy laid out by the Tabacchi family drew upon the Blue Skye fund, the AC Milan shareholder from Luxembourg. In addition a few days ago, Perini Navi and Fenix Holding declared that they had reached an agreement with the Blue Skye  and Arena Investors investment funds.  The two funds appear to have presented a binding offer that consisted in the emission of a 4 year bond worth 30 million. All that was missing was the go ahead from the Tribunal, to safeguard the work and continuity of the company, protecting the approximately 100 workers in the Viareggio shipyard.

The owners wanted to reopen and begin working again in the shipyards of Viareggio and La Spezia, confirming the closure of the facility in Turkey.

For the unions, this news does not come as a surprise. “This is a dramatic conclusion, although not an unexpected one – note Massimo Braccini, general secretary for Fiom Cgil Toscana and Mauro Rossi, general secretary for Fiom Cgil in Lucca – and we believe there is a serious responsibility both of the owners, and those who managed the company. They have destroyed a business and a brand which has made the history of boating and of Viareggio internationally.”

“For months the company has declared that they had a plan to save the business – add the union representatives – but even after the investment fund came on the scene we were never really convinced about the possibility of starting work again. The serious debt, approximately 100 million, was evidently unrecoverable, all the guarantees they gave were false and so hundreds of workers, between employees and contractors now find themselves in a very uncertain situation. We believe it is important that the tribunal lay out a provisional budget for the business to guarantee at least a minimum continuity for the business, but at the same time the workers need to be helped through a guarantee for social welfare and assistance. To this purpose we have already requested a meeting with the Official Receiver.

Now the future lies in the companies interested in acquiring Perini Navi. Two of these have already expressed their interest. Sanlorenzo, who in May was evaluating the possibility of buying shares in Perini Navi, and Ferretti Group. Now, however, the Receiver needs to inspect the current assets. It will still be a few months before the bankruptcy auction is called,

“Seeing as there are a number of important industrial groups interested in acquiring Perini Navi – note Braccini and Rossi – it is imperative that the competitive selection procedure take place quickly, guaranteeing consistency for the staff.”

Giuseppe Orrù