A Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer has agreed to pay 374 million euros ($477 million) for control of debt-laden Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti Group, the companies said Tuesday.

Shandong Heavy Industry and its subsidiary Weichai Group struck a deal with the creditors of Ferretti to take a 75 percent stake in the company, which will enable it to restructure its debts, they said in a statement.

As part of the deal, Royal Bank of Scotland and Strategic Value Partners will each become owners of a 12.5 percent stake in the yacht maker, it added.

Ferretti chairman Norberto Ferretti said he welcomed the recapitalisation deal, which would provide the company with 178 million euros in equity investment and 196 million euros in debt financing.

"We are strongly convinced that this partnership will lead to very satisfactory results and will provide Ferretti Group with a strong capital base that will allow the development of long-term growth plans," Ferretti said.

Shandong Heavy Industry, which makes commercial vehicles, construction machinery and other heavy-duty industrial products, believes Ferretti offers the company "strong strategic values", chairman Tan Xuguang said.

"Developing the yacht business is one of the group's strategic goals for the next five years," Tan said.

Demand for luxury yachts in China is growing as the wealthy look for new ways to flaunt their assets.

The number of luxury powerboats and yachts in China is expected to increase by more than 10-fold to over 10,000 by 2015, Zheng Weihang, secretary general of the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association, said previously.

Ferretti will retain its key management team, headquarters and production bases in Italy, the statement said.

China's LiuGong buys Polish bulldozer-maker
Warsaw (AFP) Jan 10, 2012 –

Chinese machinery group LiuGong said Tuesday it had agreed a deal with the Polish Treasury to acquire Poland's bulldozer firm HSW as well as its distribution branch Dressta for an undisclosed sum.

According to Polish media reports, the acquisition was worth some 56 million euros ($72 million).

Poland's State Treasury had held over 80 percent of HSW, specialising in bulldozers and crawler machines. It has a workforce of 2,000 and is based in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland.

"In the transaction, LiuGong obtains core technologies" as well as "a manufacturing and logistic footprint in Europe," a company statement said Tuesday.

With 22 factories and a workforce of 13,000 in China and India, LiuGong specialises in heavy machinery ranging from bulldozers to excavators, steamrollers, drilling machines and mining dump trucks among others. It sold 75,000 units last year.

Poland's Treasury said recently that it will use the proceeds from the sale of HSW's civilian branch to modernise it's military equipment wing which will remain entirely under state control.

Polish media have reported that LiuGong is also planning to create a European research, development and distribution centre at Stalowa Wola, and also set up other production sites which could boost its total investment to 1.2 billion zloty (269 million euros).