New Brunswick sells its fitness business
The Brunswick group, an American heavy goods vehicle manufacturer, has announced the future sale of its fitness business. Owner of Mercury marine engines and many brands of powerboats such as Quicksilver, Sea-Ray or Boston Whaler, the group also produced fitness equipment for sports halls and private individuals. Arrangements had already been made in 2018 to separate the activities. Finally, the sale of the fitness branch to the KPS Capital Partners fund for $490 million was chosen.
New Brunswick 100% boating
Following this transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2019, the Brunswick group will be entirely dedicated to the maritime and yachting sectors, through motorization, boats and services. Brunswick's marine business generated $4 billion in revenue in 2018. The company's CEO, David Foulkes, sees in the operation a strategic opportunity to refocus the activity and economic for future takeovers of companies in the yachting and nautical industries. "With the sale of the fitness activity, we are increasing our specialisation in the great marine platform of Brunswick. ...] We will work with management in the short term to refine our plans to deploy the capital generated by this transaction to improve shareholder returns. As noted above, likely options include repurchasing shares, accelerating expected debt reduction and deploying additional capital for mergers and acquisitions."
The operation will also make it easier to compare with other major players in the sector.
