Sealine has been sold to the Brunswick, the US multi-national and manufacturer of Sea Rays and Mercruisers, for $68 million.
Sealine International, one of Britain’s premier motorboat builders, has been sold to the Brunswick Corporation, manufacturers of Sea Ray boats and Mercruiser stern-drives, for $68 million.
For the past three years Sealine has been owned and run by Gerrard Wainright, who bought the company for $45 million and has impressed the marine industry by improving Sealine’s build-quality and design. Its boats have won the British Nautical Awards’ Motorboat of the Year award twice in the past three years and Sealine’s sales in the last year have totalled approximately $70 million.
Commenting on the deal, Brunswick CEO and Chairman George Buckley said: “While we currently export Sea Ray and Bayliner boats, Sealine provides us with a platform for growth in international markets with products featuring the styling and amenities that meet the needs and tastes of European consumers.” He added that the addition of Sealine “is an important first step in fulfilling our strategy of building a truly global boat company.”
Gerard Wainwright, chairman of Sealine, said that “being a part of the world’s largest pleasure boat company will afford us the resources and opportunity to accelerate the growth of our business.” Sealine will remain in Kidderminster, and Wainwright will stay on as chairman, but he will report to Dustan McCoy, president of the Brunswick Boat Group. Wainwright described the company’s acquisition by Brunswick as “an industrial marriage made in heaven.”
“We’ve done a tremendous amount in the past three years,” Wainwright said, “but if we want to create an international brand, now was the time to associate ourselves with a global player. We can enhance the image of Sealine worldwide. It has been a cottage industry in the UK and we took it as far as we could. This is the next step and we are going out onto the international stage as a proper professional company.”
