Apax Partners has acquired Dominion Marine Media (DMM), a corporation that owns the largest online marketplaces in the yachting industry. DMM was previously owned by Dominion Enterprises, a subsidiary of Landmark Media Enterprises. The deal will close in the third quarter of 2016 and terms have not been disclosed.
DMM owns online resources BoatTrader, boats.com, YachtWorld and CosasDeBarcos. Together, these sites attract more than 62 million unique visitors a year.
Each month there are 300,000 new boat offers. DMM also provides digital solutions to over 5,000 dealers and brokers in more than 143 countries.
«We are confident that the expertise and resources provided by the Apax team will not only help us continue to fulfill our mission, but will be essential in our next phase of growth»," said Ian Atkins, president of Dominion Marine Media.
Marcelo Gigliani, partner at Apax Partners, said: «The recreational yachting industry is ready for the digital revolution. DMM is the only integrated platform combining technology, data and digital media that can lead this revolution on a global scale. We are excited to fund Ian and his team and look forward to leveraging our experience investing and managing yacht e-commerce projects to accelerate the growth of DMM».
Apax Funds is one of the leading private investors in electronic message boards and digital marketing solutions. Apax has invested in Canadian TRADER Corporation, UK-based AutoTrader, US-based Bankrate and Dealer.com, as well as Chinese-based SouFun and Spanish-based Idealista.
