Purchasing “Outside-the-Box” by Polaris
Polaris Industries, the $5.4 billion maker of snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and motorcycles, says it has agreed to acquire Boat Holdings, a boat manufacturer owned by the Vogel family, management and Balmoral Funds, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $805 million.
Boat Holdings is the largest manufacturer of pontoon boats in the
U.S., one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the marine
industry.
With a full offering of pontoon, deck and cruiser boats, Boat Holdings’ four recognized brands, Bennington, Godfrey, Hurricane and Rinker, have over 200 base models across a range of price points. Boat Holdings offers boats through a network of dealers primarily in the United States and Canada. Boat Holdings reported 2017 sales of approximately $560 million.
With this purchase Polaris could realize several benefits, including:
- Boat Holdings is the leading manufacturer of pontoon boats in the U.S. In a fragmented market, Boat Holdings’ experienced and loyal network of nearly 500 dealers is a competitive advantage.
- The move into the recreational marine market expands Polaris’ significant presence in the powersports market. Polaris will be able to offer customers a range of engine-powered options on land and in the water. Customer demographics across the off-road vehicle and boating segments are similar, with nearly 30% of Polaris customers owning a boat. Polaris expects that these cross-selling opportunities will increase sales and provide additional value to shareholders.
- The addition of Boat Holdings will broaden and diversify Polaris’ range of powersports offerings, and Polaris expects that it will boost its overall growth rate. The U.S. market for new powerboats is an $8 billion market, and pontoon is one of the largest and fastest growing segments within the industry. Sales in the pontoon boat category have grown at an 11% compounded annual growth rate since 2010.
Boat Holdings has been a leader in developing high-featured, high-performance luxury boats, across price points. Boat Holdings will maintain its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Elkhart, Indiana. PSR
Other top stories in the June 2018 issue of PowerTALK are:
- Brazil Truck Strike\
- Euro Boat Market
- Poland Pushes EVs
- Russia Drone Trucks
- Nissan Focuses on EV
- Kia-India Expands
- DataPoint: Crawlers
- INTERMAT Asia Shows Reports
- Polaris Boat Acquisition
