The Monegasque group Nautical Hybrid Tech— headed by Marcello Maggi —Zepter Group and Hopafi Holding Srl have acquired the entire ownership of WIDER. Led by Marcello Maggi, a prominent player in the nautical industry for more than 30 years, WIDER will boost its efforts in green energy yachting. The new group of investors will contribute to accelerate the company growth and eventually list it in the stock exchange within three years.
Marcello Maggi steps in as President and Sales & Marketing Director and will be based in the Monaco office. Born in Ancona, but living for more than 20 years in Montecarlo, he has always been an ambassador of Italian shipyards, strategically developing companies like ISA, which he co-founded in 2001, and CRN.
Zepter Group has a wide-ranging spectrum of markets and owns companies as Swisso Logical, Bioptron and Tesla Hyperlight Optics. Hopafi Holding, the investment vehicle of the Giovannetti Family, controls two publicly listed companies in Italy and Eastern Europe and holds interests in several companies related to energy and sustainability.
WIDER made its first mark on the industry with the cutting-edge technology of WIDER 42 and WIDER 32.Then came the WIDER 150 and WIDER 165. The 150 was a forerunner of the serial hybrid propulsion system applied on luxury superyachts and won multiple awards. The WIDER 165 presented multiple special features such as a 3-person submersible; a 46-foot (14-meter) seawater swimming pool and a touch- and- go helipad. Both vessels set new records with RINA, obtaining a perfect score for levels of sound and vibration holding a class notation of COMF (Y) 100/100, never assigned before on motor yachts. RINA also bestowed upon them the RINA Platinum Green Plus Award for their green credentials.
“I am very thrilled to take this new challenge and honored to be part of the WIDER team.” – says Marcello Maggi, WIDER President – “We are aiming to continue the leadership in hybrid motor yachting, boosting innovation and research in all the yachts to come. WIDER will be working in a niche segment and focusing on quality and custom-built hybrid motor yachts. One of the main reason for proceeding with the acquisition was the incredibly high level of management team and staff, besides the extraordinary performance of the yachts in term of comfort, noise, vibration and their eco-friendly soul.“
WIDER will be focusing on aluminum hybrid vessels and concluded a license agreement with the German shipyard Lloyd Werft for hybrid yachts over 250 feet that will be produced in Bremerhaven, confirming and consolidating the good relationship between the two brands.
