Shares in Italian luxury yacht manufacturer The Italian Sea Group (TISG) declined by about 6% on Wednesday after the company announced it would pursue court protection from creditors. The board authorised a formal filing under Italy's insolvency code to obtain judicial safeguards while management develops a restructuring plan and works to maintain business continuity.
TISG said it chose to accelerate the filing process because any further postponement could reduce the set of restructuring options still available to the company. The court-backed measures are intended to provide breathing room while negotiations and operational planning continue.
The group, which markets yachts under the Admiral, Tecnomar and Perini Navi brands, has been operating under a negotiated crisis settlement procedure since March after encountering governance and financial problems. Earlier disclosures by the company indicated that debt-related losses had driven its share capital below the legally required minimum, prompting management to outline potential responses including asset disposals and renegotiation of contracts.
The company's situation deteriorated further last month when a Florence court partially lifted protections for five clients. That decision permitted those clients to exercise contractual rights, including terminating their agreements, which the company said heightened its restructuring challenge.
Financial figures disclosed by the group show a strained balance sheet. As of May 31, consolidated net financial debt stood at approximately 178.7 million, of which more than 154.6 million was bank debt. Cash on hand was reported at just 7.5 million. The parent company reported net financial debt of over 179.6 million.
In addition, the group declared 266.8 million in overdue liabilities covering bank and other financial obligations, trade payables, amounts due to factoring firms, and tax and social security liabilities. Since entering restructuring in March, the company has received 30 payment orders from creditors totaling roughly 2 million. Of those orders, 22 have been settled for a combined total of 408,000. The remaining orders are either contested, under negotiation, or expected to be handled as part of wider restructuring discussions.
The court filing under the insolvency code is a procedural escalation intended to provide formal protective measures. Management has framed the step as necessary to preserve options and to allow negotiations and corporate remedies to proceed within a defined legal framework.
At this stage, the company has identified asset sales and contract renegotiations among possible avenues to restore compliance with capital and liquidity requirements. The partial lifting of client protections by the Florence court and the concentration of overdue liabilities underline the urgency of the restructuring effort.
Investors and creditors will be watching how the court process unfolds and whether proposed measures and negotiations can stabilize the group's finances and support operational continuity.