MarineMax Inc. announced the acquisition of SkipperBud’s and its affiliate, Silver Seas Yachts (collectively SkipperBud’s), growing its presence in the Great Lakes region and on the West Coast.
Fiscal 2019 revenue for SkipperBud’s was $220 million, making this the largest acquisition for the company to date. The shareholders of SkipperBud’s will remain as its operators. The acquisition is expected to be accretive in its first full year.
SkipperBud’s was founded more than 60 years ago with the realization that the growth and success of the company depended on its employees. Led for the past 14 years by Michael Pretasky Jr., the company has seen significant growth and expansion of locations and brands. With the acquisition, MarineMax adds 20 locations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, California, Washington, and Florida. The acquisition also strengthens MarineMax’s real estate holdings with the addition of 11 marina and storage facilities, nearly doubling the company’s marina portfolio.
W. Brett McGill, chief executive officer and President of MarineMax stated, “We are very excited to expand with such a great organization as SkipperBud’s, who we have known for many years and who share our values and culture. The acquisition adds greatly to our geographic reach in the Great Lakes and the West Coast. It also provides us the opportunity to fully leverage our business and brand infrastructure across the country, better enabling us to serve customers in all markets. The acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to grow our cycle resilient higher-margin businesses, especially marina and storage income, by nearly doubling our marina operations. We are excited to have Mike Pretasky Jr. join our management team and continue to lead the operations. Mike has a proven track record in the marine industry and will help lead the Company to further growth.”
Mike Pretasky, Jr., president of SkipperBud’s stated, “We have been long-time industry partners of MarineMax and have similar values of taking care of our customers and our team with a focus on our higher-margin businesses. We are excited about joining the MarineMax team. Gaining access to their exclusive brands will further drive our growth, especially in larger yachts. The combination of both organizations enables SkipperBud’s to take advantage of multiple growth opportunities in the future.”
The company will provide additional details on the acquisition when it reports its fiscal year 2020 results.
MarineMax currently has 77 retail locations in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. MarineMax also owns Fraser Yachts Group and Northrop & Johnson and owns and operates MarineMax Vacations in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
Photo courtesy Skipper Bud’s
