Dublin-based equity firm to sell majority stake in luxury yacht maker
Sunseeker — which has been making boats at its Poole headquarters since the late 1970s — is in sale talks with Dalian Wanda, a Chinese conglomerate with interests in property, hotels, tourism, and entertainment.
The Chinese firm, via last year’s $2.6bn (€1.96bn) takeover of US company, AMC, is also the world’s largest cinema owner.
Sunseeker — whose yachts have also appeared in every James Bond movie since the Pierce Brosnan- fronted 1999 effort, The World Is Not Enough — said in a statement yesterday that it has entered discussions “with a third party” over the sale of a majority stake.
The company is majority- owned by FL Partners, the Dublin-based boutique private equity firm headed by former KPMG chartered accountant, Peter Crowley and Neill Hughes, ex-IBI corporate finance director.
FL Partners — which also holds a stake in UTV and owns the Racing Post newspaper — took a majority share in Sunseeker in 2010, after a debt restructuring deal.
While FL was making no formal comment, it is understood that Sunseeker’s management team will remain after a sale is complete; with representatives of FL Partners remaining on the board and the company keeping a minority shareholding in the business.
Sunseeker’s founder, Robert Braithwaite is also likely to remain involved in the business and stay on as group president.
Sunseeker currently employs over 2,200 people — all of whom are likely to be retained also — and has operations here, via MGM Boats in Dun Laoghaire.
Its boats typically sell for nothing less than £400,000; with Dublin-born former Formula One boss, Eddie Jordan recently snapping up its latest top-of-the-range model for a reported £20m.
