Bénéteau wants to acquire a stake in Starfisher
The Bénéteau Group, Europe's leading yacht manufacturer, wants to strengthen its boat production capacity. Particularly solicited in the less than 35-foot motorboat segment, the Vendée-based yachting heavyweight has announced the start of exclusive negotiations with the Starfisher shipyard to take a "significant" stake in its capital. The Spanish brand has its shipyard in Vila Nova de Cerveira, in northern Portugal, near the Spanish border. Under the name Starfisher or ST Boats, depending on the market, it markets boats with open or cabin engines, dedicated to sport or leisure fishing. Its models cover a wide range, from a small unit of 6.50 meters long to a 45-foot cruiser. The shipyard also builds under subcontract for other brands such as the Catalan De Antonio Yachts.
Portugal, a new alternative to Poland?
The announcement of these negotiations echoes the statements by Jérôme de Metz In our columns, the CEO of the Bénéteau Group talked about the group's choice of industrial location and the saturation of the Polish labor pool. Poland, Europe's boat factory, where most of the Vendée-based group's small boats are produced, as well as those of its American competitor Brunswick, is facing a lack of manpower. Portugal could become the new base camp for yachting manufacturers in the European Union. The choice of the Bénéteau Group comes shortly after that of the Brunswick group of companies to invest heavily in its factory, located in the same city of Vila Nova de Cerveira . It has announced its intention to double its production there.
