Mystery buyer purchases $278 million superyacht once owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. It features 13 staterooms, two submarines, and a pool that turns into a dancefloor.

Octopus in Canary Wharf, London, in 2012.

Ki Price/Reuters

• A superyacht built for Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen has been sold to a secret buyer, reports say.
• The boat, named Octopus, had been listed for about $278 million, Bloomberg News reported.
• The 414-foot vessel's new owner plans to open the Octopus to charters, SuperYacht Times reported.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

A 414-foot luxury yacht once owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and listed for $278 million was sold to a mystery buyer, reports said.

The vessel, named "Octopus," was purchased for an undisclosed price, Bloomberg News reported. The mystery buyer was Scandinavian, The Guardian reported.

SuperYacht Times first reported the sale, saying: "Her new owner intends to charter her for the first time since her launch, offering guests the opportunity to join her on a two-year round the world tour, beginning in January 2022, following a yard period this winter."

Allen, who died in October 2018, paid about $200 million for the Lürssen yacht. The boat was delivered in 2003. It had been listed at about $325 million in 2019.

The Octopus has 13 staterooms, an observation lounge, a movie theater, and a recording studio, according to Fraser Yachts, which listed it for sale. Along with a diving dock and beach club, it has a spa, pool, and gym.

The yacht became well known for both its amenities - it has two submarines - and for the parties thrown aboard. At the Cannes Film Festival, Allen hosted yacht parties attended by rock legends and movies stars, reportedly including Mick Jagger and Chloe Sevigny.

In 2015, the yacht's Cannes party guests included Leonardo DiCaprio, Karlie Kloss, and Natalie Portman, The New York Post reported at the time. (Allen also partied at Cannes with his smaller 303-foot yacht, Tatoosh.)

Octopus moored in Turkey in 2015.

Ibrahim Uzun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Yacht ownership was about more than pleasure-boating for Allen, however. He also used Octopus as a research vessel, often hunting wreckage of ships sunk during World War II.

Allen and a team of researchers in 2015 led an operation in the North Atlantic to recover the HMS Hood, a battle-cruiser sunk in 1941. It was one of several such expeditions Allen led.

Bloomberg reported that 219 superyachts were sold in Q1, more than doubling from a year earlier.

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