Sanlorenzo among five bidders for Italian Sea Group assets

Tuesday, October 20th, 2026

Superyacht

The Italian Sea Group’s Marina di Carrara headquarters. Image courtesy of The Italian Sea Group

The Italian Sea Group has announced the conclusion of the second phase of the competitive process to identify potential investors as part of its corporate restructuring, having received five binding offers.

According to Il Sole 24 Ore, two bids come from Sri Global and Azimut Benetti. Sri Global, the investment holding company headed by Giulio Gallazzi (52 per cent) and Bernardo Vacchi (48 per cent), has submitted a fully funded bid and proposes Vincenzo Poerio as TISG’s new CEO. Azimut Benetti reportedly intends to acquire the shipyards in Carrara, La Spezia and Viareggio.

A third binding bid, for La Spezia alone, comes from the Polo Nautico di Carrara consortium, owned equally by Sanlorenzo and Polo Nautico Viareggio, which is itself controlled by Sanlorenzo. The group confirmed the bid details in a press statement, although no price was revealed.

Baglietto has reportedly submitted the fourth offer, also for La Spezia.

Il Sole 24 Ore reports the latest binding offer may have come from Palumbo Shipyards, which operates a 50-50 joint venture with MSC to manage the Malta Shipyard, or Safe Harbour Marinas, a Blackstone subsidiary.

All five of the proposals are structured exclusively as asset acquisitions, with two covering the business as a whole. The board says it is reviewing the offers with support from financial advisers Meti Corporate Finance and KPMG Advisory.

It was first reported in July that Sanlorenzo had put its weight behind a proposed consortium seeking to acquire the entire business undertaking of the group.

Sanlorenzo says the decision to focus solely on the La Spezia Shipyard business unit reflects the ‘information and documentation available’, as well as the timetable for the process.

Giovanni Costantino was recently reappointed chief executive of TISG

The Italian Sea Group turmoil

The news comes amid ongoing turmoil for the Italian superyacht yard, which is battling ongoing financial issues and an overspending probe. The crisis is underpinned by the continuing fallout from the August 2024 sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, built under TISG’s Perini Navi brand. TISG has argued that the disaster – which resulted in the immediate death of seven people, plus a Dutch rescue diver – caused severe commercial damage to Perini and has launched a €456m damages claim against the yacht’s owner, Revtom, and others.

A negotiated crisis settlement procedure began on 16 March 2026. Earlier this month (October 2026), the Italian Sea Group’s new board of directors reappointed Giovanni Costantino as CEO.

Costantino stepped down from his position, effective under Article 2385 of the Italian Civil Code, in July 2026, alongside the dissolution of the rest of the board.