PBH Marine Group Sells Four Winns

Sierra · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:57 am

Platinum Equity's PBH Marine Group Sells Michigan-Based Recreational Boat Business

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 23, 2014) - Platinum Equity today announced the sale of Rec Boat Holdings ("RBH"), the manufacturer of Four Winns, Glastron, Wellcraft and Scarab brand boats, to the Bénéteau Group. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2008157#ixzz35YazJJA3

firecadet613 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 7:04 am

Bénéteau is a good well respected boat builder. This should be good for the brand.

Bliss36 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 7:26 am

I agree! I think that's great news that it is owned by a boat builder again instead of an equity group. Hopefully they make rebuilding their dealer network a top priority!! Bénéteau is a classy brand for sure so hopefully they can bring some elegance back to the Vista line....and maybe a mini swift trawler :lol:

Walt · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 7:44 am

When I had my 23' Mac Gregor, I always hoped to "trade up" to a 42' Bénéteau. Unfortunately, I couldn't spell it, afford it, or have any place to put it if I could, so I ended up with my buddies used Maxum. That led me here.... to this place.... with Ric. Maybe it's some twisted fate. :roll:

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 8:12 am

Quote:

For Bénéteau, this represents its first entry into the small powerboat market. Bénéteau Group also owns the Bénéteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Prestige and Monte Carlo brands, as well as a European homebuilding division. In 2012-13, sailboats accounted for 41 percent of the group’s revenue, motorboats accounted for 36 percent and housing was responsible for 23 percent, according to the company. Most dealers expressed concern over the future of the oft-sold brands. “Obviously, it makes it tough with the fact that they keep changing ownership every couple of years,” said Roy Finney Jr., vice president of The Boat Shop, a Four Winns dealer in Tafton, Pennsylvania. “Makes you wonder where’s it going to go, what’s it going to do for the brand?”

Still, Finney said he is pleased that the brands are being bought by a company that is well known in the industry.

“Having an owner with both the knowledge and resources of such a company can be a wonderful thing as it can open doors that were otherwise not possible,” he said. “I’m sure management there went into this with a very well thought out plan and know where they want to take these companies moving forward, which could be exactly what is needed and will hopefully bring some continuity to the brands ownership and identity moving forward. So with that in mind I look forward to hearing what they have in store.”

Rob Brown, owner of Clark Marine, a Glastron dealer in Manchester, Maine, said he has seen “a lot of transition” with the brand and hopes the company maintains product quality.

“As long as they continue to build boats and build them to the level and quality they build them, I’m happy with that,” Brown said. “I hope they stay the course. As a dealer, I think that’s all we can hope for.”

Let's hope it is a success . I'm not so sure at this point. Time will tell.

blue dragon · **Joined:** Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:01 pm **Posts:** 792

Corporate culture will clash, blow boats and motor boats?

EvilZ · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 8:33 am

I believe a couple of the brands listed in the article are power boats - will be interesting to see what the future holds....

RotaryRacer · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:34 am

Interesting indeed. I've been out of the loop on these corporate restructures for a while. This actually sort of surprised me. "frenchy" is probably happy.

I just hope having a foreign corporate parent doesn't interfere with the folks in Cadillac being able to build boats that real Americans actually want and can afford.

I see Beneteau as being up scale and high brow. Glastron and Scarab are not. Four Winns wants to be high brow, but really is more a middle of the road brand. Maybe Beneteau is really looking to expand down market to gain larger market share. If so, I hope they allow the brands to remain distinct and not just make mini Beneteaus...

My dream to have more OB powered options may be a little closer though. I love the idea of the Barracuda boats...would like to actually get on one...

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:17 am

I had the same thought about the foreign ownership. In the end, being owned by a big conglomerate is not always the best thing for a boat company. When times are good its fine. When times are bad or the big shots make bad decisions in their other businesses the boat company suffers too. Look what happened when OMC bought FW (and a whole bunch of other companies, Sea Swirl, Hydrasports, Donzi, etc). They all suffered in the OMC debacle. All from very poor management.
I like Chaparral in sport boats and Key West in fishing boats. They are still independent companies as far as I know and you can get your choice of power, unlike any boat company owned by Brunswick (Merc only)......
As far as FW, their more recent bowriders in I/O configuration have terrible engine access. You have to go up to a 23 footer just to get a decent sized engine compartment. I for one will not buy a boat made to make my life miserable, or cost me more money for no good reason.

RotaryRacer · **Posted:** Wed Nov 05, 2014 1:01 pm

Did this deal ever get finalized?

All the FW and sister company sites still say Rec Boat Holding and all recent news releases still refer to Rec Boat Holding on the header.

No recent mention of anything related to Beneteau acquiring the brands.

Just curious if I missed something or if anyone has more details on this.

Of course...after I posted this....I just re-read the original new release and see that it was stated the all of Rec Boat Holdings was sold, so the corporate structure I guess may remain the same with with Beneteau as the "owner" of RBH instead of Platinum.

It still seems odd that this many months later there hasn't been any mention of the deal and what it may mean for for future product.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Wed Nov 05, 2014 1:19 pm

RotaryRacer wrote:

Did this deal ever get finalized?

All the FW and sister company sites still say Rec Boat Holding and all recent news releases still refer to Rec Boat Holding on the header.

Yep, done deal. Nothing new to mention than what has been said earlier. Cadillac brands will remain the same, but with more funding and stability than they had before.

Quote:

Based in Cadillac, Michigan, the company that has been acquired, led by an experienced management team, has revenues of USD 150 million and employs 475 people. It has a network of over 200 dealers across North America and its entry into the Groupe Beneteau will enable it to expand its access to the European and global markets. Rec Boat will be included within the Group's scope from the acquisition date.

ric · **Posted:** Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:57 pm

Oh lord please baby jesus sell the Jeanneau Cap Camarat in the USA.

ric · **Posted:** Wed Nov 05, 2014 3:25 pm

Cap'n Morgan wrote:

ric wrote:

Oh lord please baby jesus sell the Jeanneau Cap Camarat in the USA.

Intermarine locations in Ft. Lauderdale and Dania Beach have several in stock since late in 2013.
Somehow I don't think you have a spare $60K to $130K laying around to buy one though.....

I have the loan approved for 175, but it's to buy a house not a boat.

Sierra · **Posted:** Thu Nov 06, 2014 6:15 pm

In the November issue of PMY, Nicolas Harvey, the President of Prestige (a Beneteau line) was interviewed. You might find this interesting:

PMY: With Beneteau's recent acquisition of Michigan-based Rec Boat Holdings, with brands like Wellcraft, Scarab, Four Winns and Glastron, does the company intend to begin bringing its smaller, outboard driven boats into the U.S. market?

NH: That is indeed the strategy that we are developing at present, distributing the boats through the dealer networks of Rec Boat Holdings.

PMY: Does Prestige plan to begin any kind of manufacturing at the factory in Michigan?

NH: It is unlikely that Prestige brand boats would be built here, but I am not in charge of the industrial strategy of the group.

Paul358V · **Posted:** Sun Nov 09, 2014 6:49 pm

I'm hoping they will start support warranty work. My 2007 Vista 358 continues to have 6' long stress cracks running down both starboard and port sides of the hull. They fixed it cosmetically twice under warranty, but it's a manufacturing defect that causes the cracks to keep coming back. Last call to Recreational Boat Holdings, left me hanging. They won't honor the warranty because of the previous bankruptcy. So I'm left with a "Lemon" of a hull problem. Definitely holding off on my desired purchase of a Vista 435 upgrade. I'd hate to leave the Four Winns Family, especially since this is my third one! We love the boat, but this seems like it's going to be an expensive and frustrating issue to deal with.

www.iFourWinns.com

PBH Marine Group Sells Four Winns

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