Boating Business

Sunseeker Sold by Chinese to Private Equity

New 131' Sunseeker

A new 131’ Sunseeker sells for well over $20 Million, or about 10% of the brand’s sale price.

Last Friday Bloomberg reported that the price paid by Lionheart Capital and Italy’s Orienta Capital Partners for Sunseeker International was about £160m ($208m). During a press conference last Thursday at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, at which the sale was announced, the principals involved declined to answer questions about the deal value or the shareholding structure.

According to the official press announcement released at the time, Orienta sponsored a club deal which suggests other undisclosed investors are involved apart from Lionheart, Orienta and Faro Alternative Investments.

The Press Conference

Lionheart Capital, the Miami-based investment company, and Italian-owned Orienta Capital Partners announced the completion of the purchase of Sunseeker International from Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, which has owned the British boat builder for the past 11 years.

Sunseeker at FLIBS press conference last week: Ophir Sternberg speaking, Giancarlo Galeone and Andrea Frabetti.

Right to left: At a FLIBS press conference last week: Ophir Sternberg speaking, Giancarlo Galeone and Andrea Frabetti.

Negotiations regarding the sale are thought to have started in 2023. Lionheart already owns Cigarette Racing, the Florida-based high-performance boat company which it acquired in 2021 from Skip Braver. The proportional shareholdings of Lionheart and Orienta in Sunseeker have not been revealed.

Lionheart is owned by Ophir Sternberg, who has invested in a wide range of businesses including real estate and resort developments since arriving in the US from Israel in 1993.

The Cost of Boatbuilding Ownership

Assuming the figure of £160m, as reported by Bloomberg’s Gillian Tan and Vincy Chan, is close to the actual amount paid, it would represent approximately half the price the Chinese Dalian Wanda Group paid to acquire Sunseeker in 2013.

The latest deal means that all three of Britain’s largest powerboat builders, which were founded in the 1960s by successful entrepreneurs, are now in the hands of private equity investors. To add to Sunseeker being controlled by Lionheart/Orienta, Princess is now owned by KPS Capital Partners and Fairline by Hanover.