After a few months marked by rumors and speculation, Feadship announced this week that one of the world’s leading luxury-goods groups is acquiring a holding in its Royal Van Lent shipyard (partially visible here at the launch of Harle last year).
LVMH, the company behind Moët & Chandon, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and many other renowned brands, has agreed to acquire the shares of the megayacht yard that are currently owned by Egeria, an investment company based in Holland. Egeria obtained a holding in Royal Van Lent in August 2006. Dick Van Lent, the yard’s CEO, will remain in that position as well as a shareholder.
Earlier this summer some business-news Web sites reported that firms specializing in buyout transactions were interested in Feadship, though they didn’t specify whether the firms wanted to acquire Feadship as a whole or just part(s) of it. (Feadship is comprised of Royal Van Lent as well as the Royal De Vries megayacht yard and De Voogt naval-architecture firm.) While LVMH may seem an unusual parent company, in light of this and even in general, consider that it targets ultra-high-net-worth individuals through a multitude of its brands. And according to newswire reports, LVMH intends to leverage its existing relationships with those customers to grow Royal Van Lent’s reach. “The objective is to consolidate the company’s leadership while maintaining its unique heritage, exclusive positioning, and exceptional craftsmanship,” according to a statement released by LVMH.
In that same press release, Antonio Belloni, LVMH’s group managing director, says, “This acquisition is an outstanding opportunity for LVMH to welcome to the group as prestigious a business as Royal van Lent, which is well-established in the ultra-luxury market. We are confident about its growth potential in the exclusive megayacht sector, a market with sustainable growth prospects.” And Dick Van Lent says, “We look forward to benefiting from the support and strategic leadership of the world’s leading luxury-goods company. I am pleased to be involved in the continued development of Royal Van Lent, a company with 160 years of history in yacht construction, as part of the LVMH family.”
The acquisition is still subject to clearance by relevant authorities. In the meantime, the De Voogt design office and Royal De Vries remain unaffected. Royal De Vries, in fact, remains in the hands of the De Vries family, which has been running it for a few generations now and does not intend to sell it.
09-04-08 Update: I contacted Henk De Vries, head of Royal De Vries, to find out how LVMH’s involvement will affect his yard. His reply: “We do welcome LVMH as a stable co-owner of the Feadship brand. We have already had several discussions with them, and our family feels assured that they respect the heritage and intrinsic value long-term.”
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