Editor’s note: Brunswick Corporation may not be a name familiar to the casual bass fishing fan, but they are the corporation that owns Mercury, Motorguide and several boat companies you may have heard of, such as Lowe, Lund, and Crestliner. Acquiring Navico means they will also own Lowrance.
METTAWA, Ill. June 24, 2021 – Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Navico, a global leader in marine electronics and sensors for $1.05 billion. As a result of this acquisition, Brunswick will add the industry leading brands of Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, and C-MAP to its Advanced Systems Group (ASG), which includes the leading Parts & Accessories (P&A) brands in power management, digital control and monitoring, and networked devices.
“The acquisition of Navico and its award-winning brands will immediately accelerate Brunswick’s ACES (Autonomy, Connectivity, Electrification and Shared-Access) strategy, and support our vision to deliver distinctive new products and technology-enabled experiences,” said Dave Foulkes, Brunswick Corporation CEO. “We will continue to invest both in organic initiatives and acquisitions to maintain our position of global product leadership, and the addition of Lowrance, Simrad, B&G and C-MAP to our existing brand portfolio will further strengthen our ability to provide complete, innovative digital solutions to consumers and comprehensive, integrated systems offerings to our OEM customers.”
Navico is a privately held global company based in Egersund, Norway and co-owned by Altor Fund IV and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. It is a leading provider of multi-function displays, fish finders, autopilots, sonar, radar, and cartography. Navico’s strong brands serve most major powerboat and sailing markets for both recreational and commercial applications.
Navico’s revenues totaled approximately $470 million for the trailing 12-month period ended May 31, 2021, with attractive revenue growth, a strong margin profile, and a capital efficient business model. Brunswick’s P&A segment accounts for about $1.5 billion – or 35 percent of total 2020 annual revenues. With the addition of Navico, Brunswick expects its P&A businesses to have revenues on a run-rate basis exceeding $2.0 billion. Navico’s significant aftermarket orientation and attractive margin profile further add to Brunswick’s cycle resistant business profile.
“After a strong period of growth, we are very excited about joining the Brunswick family to further strengthen our offering and support our customers going forward.” said Knut Frostad, Navico’s President & CEO. “On behalf of everyone at Navico, we cannot wait to begin our journey with Brunswick and share our passion and dedication with their team. By working together, we will be able to deliver a unique and integrated customer experience.”
“Brunswick’s Advanced Systems Group has unparalleled global reach and the addition of Navico solidifies our commitment to creating an unmatched boater and OEM experience,” said Brett Dibkey, Advanced Systems Group president. “We have a very broad product portfolio, ranging from general marine products to power management solutions and we will leverage the unique expertise of each brand to generate revenue and operating synergies to promote growth for both ASG and Navico. We are also adding a talented, experienced, and consumer-focused management team, which is expected to remain in place and play a major role in the execution of our strategy.”
Brunswick will be using a combination of debt and cash on its balance sheet to fund the acquisition. Brunswick remains committed to maintaining its investment grade credit rating and at close expects its debt-to-EBITDA ratio to be approximately 1.7x on a gross basis.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Brunswick Corporation and is providing committed financing; Baker McKenzie and Schjødt are serving as legal counsel to Brunswick Corporation on the transaction.
Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, Sweden Bankfilial, and Carnegie acted as financial advisors to Altor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Marine Innovations Group AS; Sullivan & Cromwell and Wiersholm provided legal advisory services on the transaction.
The closing of the transaction is anticipated during the second half of 2021 and is subject to usual and customary closing conditions as well as regulatory review and approval.
