On June 13, an Italian bankruptcy court will sell the former Mondomarine construction sheds and equipment at auction. This impacts the existing site leaseholder, Palumbo Superyachts Refit, which has usage rights through June 30. While it reportedly has submitted a bid, it isn’t guaranteed the ownership contract.
According to the newspaper Il Secolo XIX, three bankruptcy receivers have valued the Mondomarine assets at €3 million (about $3.551 million at press time). The total includes several things, such as the buildings, machinery, and other equipment. Also included: the brand names Mondomarine and Campanella. (Cantieri Navali Campanella, dating to 1915, started using “Mondomarine” for its yacht projects in the 1990s.) Finally, the bankruptcy receivers include contracts for 55 craftspeople who were employed when the shipyard faltered.
Mondomarine has been in bankruptcy liquidation since September 2017. Its shareholders face serious allegations, including false accounting and fraud. In late December 2017, Palumbo Group took over the Mondomarine site. (The Group owns Palumbo Superyachts Refit.) The agreement, made with the Italian bankruptcy court and labor unions, was for just six months, however. But, it signed the lease with the intention of making the facility a permanent part of its refit operations.
Palumbo Superyachts Refit wasted no time in resuming shipyard operations. It hired nine former Mondomarine workers immediately. It added four more upon hauling the yacht Kinta in January.
Judging from the newspaper account, the company still intends to remain on site. In fact, Il Secolo XIX reports that Palumbo submitted a bid matching the receivers’ valuation. If successful, ownership would start upon the June 30 lease expiration. However, the newspaper adds, bankruptcy receivers may turn to informal tender if at least two bidders submit offers. Under an informal tender, the receivers need not take the highest bid. Regardless, according to Il Secolo XIX, if an informal tender occurs, the minimum raise will be €100,000 (about $118,500 at press time).
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