Cantiere Delle Marche (CdM) has announced that it has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of the company's capital through a management buy-out. According to its own information, CdM is the global market leader in the Explorer segment with a market share of almost 60 per cent. These are between 26 and 46 metres long and have always had a steel hull since they were founded twelve years ago - otherwise they are not explorers according to the company's own definition.
FIL Bros. Family Office, based in Austria, now owns 75 per cent of the company shares. The remaining 25 per cent is split between CdM co-founders Ennio Cecchini and Vasco Buonpensiere. Cecchini, the former CEO, is the new President and Vasco Buonpensiere is swapping his position as Sales & Marketing Director for that of CEO.
Tom Schröder, who owns FIL Bros. Family Office and commissioned a Flexplorer 146 from Cantiere delle Marche, says of the investment:
"I have a great passion for yachting and have found that the management and staff at CdM share this passion with me, combined with a commitment to building something special that is unrivalled in the yachting industry."
Schröder, who co-founded the pan-European company Wunschgutschein in Germany, continues: "The acquisition aims to strengthen and further develop CdM with Ennio and Vasco. They are the true architects of this extraordinary success and are still at the helm of a company that has taken a far-sighted approach to building explorers of unsurpassed quality and design, real small ships made of steel and aluminium."
The order book comprises 13 explorers
The new CEO, Vasco Buonpensiere, says: "We have ambitious and visionary goals, but we know that we will achieve them, in keeping with the spirit and history of CdM. Considering that our building sites are occupied until 2026 and that the production value will double within three years compared to 2021, we will continue to focus on our brand positioning."
CEO Vasco Buonpensiere on the construction quality of Cantiere delle Marche:
"We are perhaps the only Italian brand that is on a par with the best northern European shipyards. Many owners who have opted for CdM after owning yachts from Dutch and German shipyards testify to this."
Cantiere delle Marche's order book includes 13 explorers with a total length of 504 metres and a cumulative interior volume of around 5000 gross tonnes. These include three Flexplorer 146s, which are based on "Aurelia" (issue 5/21), but have all gained 16 feet in length. Work has recently begun on Project "T", a 45-metre custom explorer based on creative plans by Giorgio M. Cassetta. Work is also underway in Ancona on a 45-metre RJ 155, two RJ 115s, an Acciaio 130, Darwin 115 and a 43-metre single with Paszkowski lines.
The increased demand led to the construction of a new hall and massive reorganisation at the beginning of 2022. Cecchini and Buonpensiere welcomed a new CFO, COO and project management coordinator, with four engineers and one female engineer reporting to them. The total number of direct employees grew from around 30 to 50. The credo is: increase capacity, maintain quality.
