In recent years, the epidemic, war, and various uncertainties have made the supplier link in the yacht industry chain become the favorite of the industry and external capital acquisition.

A boat, hull, interior, carpentry, furniture, interior, power, electrical, navigation and countless other facilities and equipment accessories, no yacht manufacturer can achieve 100% in-house production, in fact, over the past few years, yacht manufacturers have been outsourcing an increasing proportion.

Buying parts directly from outside suppliers or outsourcing a process such as interior carpentry to a company is a common practice for yacht builders and, under normal circumstances, cost-effective. However, the three years of the epidemic and major political events such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict have affected the world, so that more and more yacht manufacturers that rely on outsourcing are in trouble.

The higher the proportion of outsourcing, the more uncontrollable factors.

In order to ensure supply, control quality, cost and timeliness, many yacht manufacturers have started vertical integration, direct acquisition, internalizing the supply chain.

For example, in the field of fully customized yacht construction, last month, the century-old German Nobiskrug announced the acquisition of a super boat interior company WIMA, the two sides have worked together, the representative is 80 meters fully customized environmental super boat Artefact.

In the luxury yacht maker sector, for example, Italy's Ferretti Group has acquired two suppliers, one specialising in building wooden furniture for yachts and one specialising in systems such as fully automated parts for yachts.

The acquisition of supplier partners by yacht manufacturers is expected to increase, for example, the chairman and CEO of Sanlorenzo, the representative of Italian superyacht manufacturers, said that in 2023, it will pay close attention to M&A opportunities, of course, depending on the timing, and will seek further integration with its most senior supplier partners.

In addition to the vertical integration of yacht manufacturers, there is also the acquisition of yacht suppliers by the yacht industry and external capital, and there are many such acquisitions.

Major acquisitions in the industry, such as: Brunswick Corporation has acquired Navico, a global player in Marine electronics and sensors, for $1.05 billion, and has acquired four well-known brands: Lowrance, Simrad, B&G and C-MAP.

For example, six months ago, Quick, a well-known Italian supplier of innovative yacht parts founded in 1983, was acquired by an investment fund with headquarters in Italy and offices in the United States and the United Kingdom, which classified the acquisition as a Supply Chain Excellence program.

Next, whether it is a direct acquisition in one step, or first investment and then gradually holding, whether it is the integration of the yacht industry, or the layout of external capital, the acquisition of crucial suppliers in the yacht industry chain is expected to increase.