Beverly Hills-based buyout firm Platinum Equity has agreed to sell Genoa-based yacht and cruise ship outfitter De Wave Group to Italian firm Renaissance Partners in a deal reportedly worth $465 million, according to a source close to the transaction. The agreement caps a seven-year stretch in which Platinum steered the company through a pandemic that shut down global cruise travel almost immediately after it took ownership.
Platinum Equity acquired De Wave Group in 2019, only for the company to find itself operating near the epicenter of Europe's initial COVID-19 outbreak within months of the deal closing, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. Despite that rocky start, the outfitter more than doubled both revenue and EBITDA under Platinum's ownership, the outlet reports. By fiscal year 2025, De Wave's EBITDA had surpassed €50 million and its order backlog had swelled from roughly €500 million at the time of acquisition to more than €1 billion.
A Pandemic-Era Turnaround Built on Acquisitions
De Wave Group reported record revenue of €400 million in 2025 — roughly $465 million — and had set a target of €500 million, or about $580 million, for 2026, per the Los Angeles Business Journal. The company grew through a string of acquisitions, including its January 2026 purchase of DL Services, a French designer of marine galleys, along with five other deals. As part of Platinum's buy-and-build strategy, De Wave expanded its technical reach in 2022 by acquiring HVAC specialist Tecnavi, Finnish public-area outfitter FCR Finland, and luxury yacht joinery maker Mobil-Line, according to SuperYacht Times.
Louis Samson said Platinum saw De Wave as a technically strong business with the potential to become a more integrated global leader, per the Los Angeles Business Journal. Riccardo Pompili, De Wave's chief executive, said the company and Platinum expanded capabilities, strengthened its international presence, and created a more integrated platform to support customers throughout a vessel's lifecycle, the outlet reports.
From Cabins to Superyachts, an Expanding Footprint
De Wave Group was originally formed in 2014 through the merger of three marine interior specialists, evolving into a single platform that supplies integrated marine interiors and technical systems, according to International Boat Industry. The company now operates five facilities employing 1,400 people across Italy, Poland, Singapore, and the United States, per the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Its total backlog exceeds €1 billion, International Boat Industry reports.
Regulatory Hurdles Before a Q4 Close
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. Before that happens, the transaction still needs customary regulatory approvals, per the same International Boat Industry report. De Wave Group's executive management team, including Pompili, plans to reinvest substantially all of their sale proceeds back into the company alongside Renaissance Partners, the outlet notes.
Platinum Equity, founded in 1995 by billionaire Tom Gores, manages roughly $48 billion in assets across a portfolio of about 60 operating companies, according to a release carried by PR Newswire. Beyond De Wave, the firm holds active Italian investments in pasta sauce maker Fratelli Polli and specialty wine producer Fantini Group, the release states, and the De Wave sale strengthens Platinum's relationships with founders and management teams in Italy, per the Los Angeles Business Journal.
A Deal Bookended by a Prior Trade With the Buyer
Platinum Equity and Renaissance Partners have crossed paths before: Platinum acquired Fantini Group from Renaissance Partners back in 2020, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. That earlier trade underscores a long-running relationship between the two firms now closing the loop on De Wave.
The transaction carries a deep bench of advisers on both sides. Platinum Equity assembled a team including Lazard, Clearwater, UniCredit, New Deal Advisors, EY Tax, PwC Tax, and Ropes & Gray, while De Wave retained BCG as strategic adviser, according to the PR Newswire release. The scale of that advisory roster reflects the complexity of a cross-border industrial sale of this size moving toward a close later this year.
