Ferretti Looks to Acquire Big Brand Wally

Founder Luca Bassani started in the industry by designing his own custom yacht for himself and his family. The brand has grown exponentially since then, with an initial specialisation in sailboats and quickly progressing to the design and build of distinctive power yachts.

Wally is renowned for the boats it has produced and is best known for the use of innovative design and state-of-the-art technology, including carbon fibre construction techniques. The acquisition of such a well-known and respected brand could proposedly boost Ferretti’s client base and further extend the group’s share of the superyacht industry.

According to Italian journalists Francesca Basso and Daniela Polizzi, the proposed merger would cost in the region of 25 and 30 million euros. Since then, Ferretti CEO Alberto Galassi has confirmed that talks are in progress. “I hope I can get Wally, we've been negotiating for months,” said Galassi in a recent interview. “We care a lot about it because it is an extraordinary brand, synergistic with the other brands of the Ferretti Group, but it is a very complicated operation… the agreement could be closed at the beginning of next year if the conditions underlying the agreement will be realised.”

Galassi goes on to say that he believes the most difficult part of the process comes from the identification of a dedicated build site, as Bassani’s company no longer own any construction sites.

Galassi goes on to conclude: "The operation is complicated because the Wally brand has a troubled history from a legal point of view. We are in full harmony with Luca Bassani and if we were to succeed in perfecting the agreement, we intend to collaborate with him.”

An official statement is expected at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September this year. Meanwhile, work continues on the new Wally 145 of Marco Tronchetti Provera, which is under construction in the Persico Marine shipyard in Massa Carrara.