Italian shipyard Cantiere Delle Marche has announced the acquisition of 100 percent of the capital of the company completed through a management buyout supported at 75 percent by Austrian FIL Bros Family Office with the remaining 25 percent going to the company’s co-founders, Ennio Cecchini and Vasco Buonpensiere.

As part of the deal, Cecchini, former CEO of CDM, now becomes the company’s president and Vasco Buonpensiere, current sales and marketing director, has been appointed CEO.

“I have an immense passion for yachting and I found out that CDM’s management and staff share this passion of mine combined with the commitment to build something special, something that has no equal in the yachting industry,” says Tom Schröder of FIL Bros Family Office. “Together with Vasco and Ennio, since both of them play a key role in the shareholding structure, and all employees that will be further involved and motivated in the company growth, we will consolidate CDM’s position in the international arena as one of the best yacht builders in the world, consistent with what has been done in the last 12 years.”

Twelve years after its founding, CDM is the 12th shipyard in the Global Order Book 2022 by length of yachts under construction, closely following the largest yards and historical brands worldwide. The company cites an order book of as many as 13 explorer yachts, with a total length of 504 meters and gross tonnage of around 5,000.

“What we have in mind are ambitious and visionary goals, yet we know that we will get them as is in the spirit and history of CDM,” says Buonpensiere. “Considering that our production is totally sold up to 2026, and that the value of production will double within three years compared to 2021, we will further focus on our brand positioning, a brand that already has received international recognition. CDM is maybe the only Italian brand which plays on equal terms with the best northern European shipyards, as witnessed by many owners who chose CDM after owning yachts built by Dutch and German shipyards.”

“Over the years, while staying true to CDM’s founding mission, we have been able to move forward, developing new ideas and designs always thinking out of the box, never following trends but creating newones,” Cecchini says. “Our goal was to design and build the best possible explorer yachts for a growing number of experienced yacht owners, true explores themselves. When we decided to specialize CDM production, Vasco and I had a clear vision of what would happen in the yachting industry and time has proved us right: that of explorer yachts, is nowadays recognized as a trend.”

For more information: cantieridellemarche.it