US $8m Nautical Ventures Deal “Crucial” to Vision Marine Future
The agreement marks a pivotal step toward Vision’s long-term viability.
The acquisition of Florida, US-based dealer chain Nautical Ventures by Vision Marine for US$8m was the “perfect match” and crucial for the Canadian electric propulsion company to move forward, its CEO and founder told an investor’s conference call on Wednesday.
“Sales, service, warranty and inventory. As we speak, there is no dealer in the world and no dealer in the US providing a full complete service in everything that relates to the EV space. We want to be the first ones doing that,” Alex Mongeon said.
The deal package took the form of US$4m in cash to pay down debt and US$4m in the form of a convertible note to shareholders of Nautical Ventures with a conversion rate of US$8.61 on a maximum of 255,000 shares.
The two companies had combined revenue in 2024 of CA$153m and inventory of CA$103m, with Nautical Ventures showing 22% revenue growth over the previous five years average near US$100m in sales. The nine-location dealership showed nearly US$5m in profit in 2023 and is said to have lost a similar amount in 2024.
“The real estate that is owned by Nautical Ventures represents about US$14m in equity which could be utilised in the future for the growth of the company, if needed,” Mongeon added.
Nautical Ventures founder Roger Moore will stay on as chief revenue officer in charge of the sales team, which Vision Marine board member Pierre-Yves Terrisse said is charged with accelerating the adoption of Vision’s E-Motion electric outboard alongside traditional internal combustion engines (ICE).
“It’s a similar approach, if you want, to a car dealership where you can have the option between electric or gas propulsion for the same vehicle.
“Vision Marine is not a concept story. There is a track record of installations with more than 80% of OEMs already represented by Nautical Ventures,” Terrisse said.
The fit, Vision’s director of business development Bruce Nurse said, is perfect. “Roger understands the direction of boating. We’re realistic. We know we’re not getting rid of gas and diesel engines any time soon, or in our lifetime, but Roger understands that electric is here.”
Moore has been a vocal proponent of and leading advocate for electric marine propulsion.
“So, when a customer walks into a Nautical dealership and wants to buy a pontoon, he has the offerings of a Mercury or Honda gas motor and he also has the option of the electric outboards that we produce and have inventory, knowledge and relationships with those manufacturers,” Mongeon said, adding they are exploring the integration and retrofit markets.
The efforts are fueled by some 170 E-Motion outboard systems sitting in inventory at Vision headquarters in Montreal, where they have the capacity to build 300. Should the need arise, a licensed contract manufacturer in Canada is committee to produce 18,000 outboards annually.