Beneteau's portfolio, which includes 10 brands from France and the US, will include two shipyards, Seascape from Slovenia and Delphia Yachts from Poland.
The deal to buy Seascape has already been closed - as of July 9, 2018, the brand is part of Groupe Beneteau. The group bought 60% of the Slovenian shipyard, with founders Andraž Mihelin and Kristian Hajnšek retaining a 40% stake and continuing to take part in the management of Seascape after the purchase. The brand retained its name and philosophy.
Michelin and Hajnšek came into the yachting industry from sailing - they competed in the Mini Transat class. The brand they established in 2008 specialized in building small racing sailboats which are budget-friendly, fast, easy to handle and transport. Over the 10 years of its existence, Seascape has become the leader in the racing sailboat segment.
Today, the Seascape lineup includes four sailing yachts between 4.3 and 8 meters, all designed by Sam Manuard.
«Buying a stake in Seascape will allow us to offer Beneteau's customers a line-up of small sailing yachts designed both for beginners and enthusiasts who are buying a yacht for the first time»," explains Hervé Gastinel, CEO of Groupe Beneteau.
The deal to buy another Eastern European shipyard, Delphia Yachts, will be completed within the next few months, following regulatory approvals. Beneteau will buy an 80% stake in the Polish firm, through which the deal will be completed. 20% will remain with Delphia Yachts.
«Groupe Beneteau will be able to use the production capacity and expertise of Delphia Yachts to further support and develop the strategically important outboard and small sailboat segments», comments Hervé Gastinel.
Founded in 1990 in Olecko, Delphia Yachts is today one of the largest shipyards in central and eastern Europe. In 2017, the shipyard generated revenues of PLN 130 million (around EUR 30 million).
Due to the lack of people and capacity, the group even had to postpone its planned third-quarter boat deliveries to the fourth quarter of 2018.
For the nine-month period ended March 31, the Beneteau group's yachting division posted revenues of €722.9 million, up 4% from the corresponding period last year (up 6.9% at constant exchange rates). Beneteau forecasts annual earnings growth of 7-8% at constant exchange rates. This is better than the market as a whole, but slightly worse than previously forecast - the group's experts predicted growth of 8-10% in 2017-18.
