Navimo
We struck up a good relationship with the management team at Navimo well in advance of its sale. Although the acquisition did go to auction, we were in a strong position to complete the deal. The company serves a fast-growing but highly fragmented market, where brand loyalty is strong but volumes can be low. We believe Navimo is well placed to capitalise on its pre-eminent position in Europe to lead a process of consolidation.
Opportunities for growth
Navimo is Europe’s leading manufacturer and distributor of recreational marine equipment such as accessories for pleasure boats. It does business in a large number of micro-markets, where brand loyalty is strong.
Increased wealth and more leisure time have seen the marine recreational market growing consistently over the past 15 years. Navimo offers several opportunities to make the most of that growth both organically and through acquisition. We acquired Navimo from Bridgepoint in a tertiary buy-out in September 2004, for €114 million.
A hotly-contested deal
Before the acquisition we had been tracking Navimo for some time and had already formed a relationship with its management. This understanding of the company and our knowledge of the sector gave us the winning edge in the acquisition process. In what became a highly-competitive but limited auction, Duke Street had the advantage of being backed by the management team.
All of these factors were essential in helping us deal with some complex issues around management succession that were part of the deal.
Growth opportunities on several fronts
The company, which has its headquarters in Brittany, is a manufacturer and wholesaler. With over 30,000 product lines, Navimo offers the broadest range of equipment solutions for boat builders.
Some 55% of the products it sells are proprietary, and 80% of these are made by Navimo itself at one of nine production plants. Seven of these are situated in France.
Most of the brands made under the Navimo umbrella are either leading brands or in the top three, putting the group in a strong position to capitalise on a European marine accessories market which is fast-growing and highly fragmented.
Navimo has several opportunities to create more value, by cross-selling its products in different countries and by improving margins by continuing to sub-contract excess production. Having restored margins to levels seen before the buy-out, Navimo has now returned to its original Buy and Build goals. It completed the acquisition of Italian specialist windlass maker, Lofrans, in January 2008 and other acquisition targets have been identified.