Navico Holding AS, a leading provider of marine electronics and parent company to Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, and GoFree brands, has announced that an agreement between the private equity fund Altor Fund IV and the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division has resulted in a deal to acquire Navico from the Altor 2003 Fund, the current owners.
Navico is a name that is synonymous with the boating industry in both recreational and commercial markets, and the company’s labors have developed a swath of award-winning technologies that make boating safer and more accessible. HaloTM Pulse Compression Radar, StructureScan 3D sonar technology for fish finding, and B&G sailing chartplotters and instrumentation are just a few of the feathers in Navico’s hat. Today the company has about 1,500 employees and its products are sold in over 100 countries. In 2015, it achieved impressive worldwide revenues of $309 million.
Altor 2003 Fund and Altor Fund IV are both part of the Altor Equity Partners private equity firm based in Stockholm. It is unusual for a private equity fund to divest itself of an asset to another fund within the same management company, but here we are. Details about the deal are scarce due to the delicate nature of the process, but it’s sure to be of interest for the business-minded among us. Afterall, what affects the biz affects us all.
