Buyer confirmed for Bavaria Yachts

Hundreds of jobs have been secured following the announcement that a buyer has been found for Bavaria Yachts

17 September 2018

Bavaria Yachts has been bought by a private equity fund advised by the German investment company CMP Capital Management-Partners.

The move secures 800 jobs in Germany and France.

The yacht builders went into self-administration in April, allowing the firm’s management to remain operational while new investors were sought. This also meant Bavaria could continue to build and deliver 220 yachts during that period.

The private equity fund will also acquire all shares in the French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS.

‘All 550 employees of BAVARIA YACHTS in Giebelstadt and all 250 employees of BAVARIA CATAMARANS in Rochefort will transfer to the purchaser,’ said Bavaria in a statement.

The purchase will be completed after merger control clearance by the German Federal Cartel Office, which is expected in a couple of weeks. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

CMP Capital Management-Partners is a German investment company that has specialised in the acquisition of companies in distress in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since its foundation in 2000.

With the investment in a company, CMP employees assume operative management responsibilities on site. In the case of Bavaria, Dr. Ralph Kudla, restructuring expert and partner at CMP, will join the executive board.

Continues below…

Commenting, the managing director ofCMP Capital Management-Partners, Kai Brandes, said: ‘We are convinced of Bavaria’s global market potential and will sustainably develop the company. The restructuring measures will focus on regaining market share and improving production costs.’

Restructuring expert Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, managing director of Bavaria Yachtbau since insolvency proceedings began in April 2018, said Bavaria was an ‘outstanding company with a strong brand, compelling products and a highly dedicated team.’

‘We are pleased to have found a well-known and experienced buyer in CMP who will lead Bavaria into the future. The entire management would like to thank our employees, yacht dealers, customers and suppliers,’ he stated.

‘ They have all supported Bavaria Yachtbau during the insolvency proceedings. The fact that Bavaria has been able to successfully build and deliver 220 yachts during the last five months shows how committed and reliable our staff is,’ added Dr Brinkmann

22 May 2018

Bavaria Yachts has announced it is in the process of securing new investment and hopes to make an announcement in July.

The German yacht builder is continuing to take orders and deliver new boats.

‘Production has been stabilised and deliveries are continuing: more than 30 yachts have left the shipyard over the past two weeks and have been handed over to customers,’ said Bavaria in a statement.

‘All 600 employees are on duty, and agreements were reached with all major suppliers for further delivery against short payment terms,’ it added.

Bavaria went into self-administration last month. This allowed the firm’s management to remain operational while new investors are sought.

It only affected operations at Bavaria’s German operations. Nautitech – Bavaria’s catamaran arm – was unaffected.

Continues below…

The German shipyard said management and administrators have started an ‘investor process’ to rebuild Bavaria Yachts for the future.

‘The objective is to be able to present an investor in July 2018,’ said Bavaria.

The firm, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, was sold by its founder, Winfried Herrmann to the private equity group, Bain Capital in June 2007 for around €1.1 billion.

The American investment firms, Oaktree Capital and Anchorage Capital Group then became creditors post financial crisis in 2008.

As part of restructuring, Oaktree and Anchorage waived a substantial majority of their loans and became majority shareholders, investing ‘significant resource’.

‘Unfortunately, Bavaria Yachtbau was unable to recover operational profitability,’ said a spokesman for Oaktree and Anchorage.

As a result, Bavaria went into self-administration, and restructuring expert, Dr Tobias Brinkmann was appointed to find new investors.

‘We are continuing the operation and want to go into the coming order season with a new investor,’ stressed Dr Brinkmann.

‘The first expressions of interest have already been received, and we are also actively approaching potential investors,’ he added.

 

24 April 2018

Bavaria Yachts has confirmed that is has now gone into self-administration.

The German shipyard said boat production and deliveries will continue until June 2018. Wages and salaries for Bavaria’s 600 workers are also secure until then.

The self-administration, which allows the firm’s management to remain operational while an investor for the company is sought, only affects operations at Bavaria’s German operations.

Nautitech – Bavaria’s catamaran arm – remains unaffected and trading, delivery and after sales service at its base in Rochefort, France continues as normal.

‘In the current situation, we want to supply our customers with the usual high quality, stressed Bavaria’s chief operating officer, Erik Appel.

Dr. Ing. Tobias Brinkmann, specialist lawyer for insolvency law and partner in the law firm Brinkmann & Partner, joins the management team. Bavaria’s previous CEO, Lutz Henkel, left the management board last week.

Bavaria said its ‘top priority is now the search for an investor’

‘We have years of experience building high-quality yachts and are industry leaders in many areas,’ said Appel.

Bavaria said that against the background of a good market positioning, the aim was to ‘put the operation on a sound financial basis’.

Bavaria was founded in 1978 and is considered one of the market leaders in European yacht building. In January, it announced the new flagship C65 as well as the C45 models at Boot Düsseldorf.

Payment of wages and salaries for the months of April to June 2018 will be secured by bankruptcy pre-financing.

In a statement, Nautitech Catamarans, said: ‘To this day, the catamaran business remains in Rochefort France. It is an independent French company with its own employees, suppliers and bank accounts. Seen as the “jewel in the crown” of the Bavaria group, the well managed and profitable catamaran business is already attracting interest from potential buyers.

‘Whilst we understand that both the catamaran division and the struggling German operation will probably soon be under new ownership, or indeed ownerships, the operation of the catamaran business is completely unaffected by the situation in Germany. Therefore trading, delivery and after sales service continue as before.’

20 April 2018

The German yacht building giant Bavaria is expected to issue a statement later today, explaining that it is entering administration.

It is thought that the administration will apply to the Bavaria monohulls, but not to Bavaria catamarans. The company, which announced the new flagship C65 as well as the C45 models at Boot Düsseldorf earlier this year, is expected to continue construction and delivery of all current orders and will not be closing its factory.