82m superyacht Alfa Nero highest bidder officially withdraws $67.6M bid

It has been widely reported that former tech businessman Eric Schmidt has officially withdrawn his $67.6 million bid from the auction of the 82-metre Oceano superyacht Alfa Nero. Photo: Léandre Loyseau / SuperYacht TimesIn an interview with news publication Bloomberg on Friday, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders stated that Schmidt had been unable to acquire a clear title for Alfa Nero due to ongoing legal delays. 

The motor yacht was allegedly sold for $67.6 million to former tech businessman Eric Schmidt in June 2023, during a televised live broadcast on the Antigua and Barbuda government state-owned television network.

SuperYacht Times reported last week that Alfa Nero could now be sold to her second highest bidder, who placed a bid of $66 million during the auction on 16 June. The government had assigned a minimum sale price of $60 million, following her estimated valuation of $115 million, meaning that the third bid of $25 million would fall significantly below this price.

Read: 82m Oceanco superyacht Alfa Nero could be sold to second highest bidder following legal delaysPhoto: Léandre Loyseau / SuperYacht TimesEric Schmidt was advised by lawyers to hold off paying the government after the auction due to court proceedings regarding her original ownership. Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, the daughter of sanctioned Russian Andrey Guryev, who is said to have previously owned her, had sought an injunction to prevent the sale by claiming an ownership interest.

A High Court judge rejected this application, allowing the sale to move forward, but an emergency injunction application was also submitted two weeks prior by BVI-based firm Flying Dutchman, which also claims ownership of Alfa Nero. This was also denied by the Court of Appeal.Photo: Léandre Loyseau / SuperYacht TimesHowever, Damani Tabor, the Public Relations Officer of the United Progressive Party (UPP) has stated that, “While the Attorney General is leading the government’s efforts to sell the boat, on the other side of the transaction, you have the attorney general’s son, Damien Benjamin, a lawyer, is representing the buyer.”

“In any reasonable government, or private sector company, you cannot have members of the same family on opposite sides of the transaction. So, the honourable thing for the Attorney General to do would’ve been to recuse himself from the proceedings,” he added.

Read: Completion of sale of 82m Oceanco superyacht Alfa Nero delayed due to legal actionPhoto: Léandre Loyseau / SuperYacht TimesThe owner of Alfa Nero was said to be on the sanction list issued by the US, the UK and the European Union, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The yacht’s ownership was then transferred to the Antiguan government in April and was said to be costing them $28,000 a week to maintain, not including food and the wages for the crew members.

Alfa Nero was delivered in 2007 by Oceanco and features an exterior design by Nuvolari Lenard and naval architecture by Azure Yacht Design & Naval Architecture and Oceanco, with interior design from Alberto Pinto. She offers accommodation for as many as 12 guests across six suites and has a long list of key features that include, a hydraulically operated pool and a helipad on her aft deck.