Jacobs & DeJoria to Buy Larson, Seaswirl, Triumph and FinCraft
J&D Acquisitions, which is owned by Irwin Jacobs and billionaire John Paul DeJoria, said last week that it has agreed to purchase several former Genmar businesses and assets from Platinum Equity. The transaction is expected to be effective by this Friday or shortly after. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to a statement, J&D will acquire the Larson, Seaswirl and FinCraft boat brands along with the Larson boat factory in Little Falls, Minnesota, VEC technology as well as its equipment, patents and copyrights, and the Triumph Boat Company in Durham, NC.
 Irwin Jacobs has been a life-long boater and cares about boat design and construction details. |
Irwin Jacobs, chairman of J&D Acquisitions, said in a released statement, "I'm very pleased that, after completion of the bankruptcy auction and approval process, we were able to negotiate an acceptable transaction with Platinum Equity that will keep the Larson Boat factory open. It is my hope that over time we'll be able to bring back many, if not most, of the Larson Boat factory employees who have been laid off over the last 18 months."
J&D has also agreed to purchase from Platinum Equity several other assets, including the Seaswirl boat factory in Culver, Oregon, Windsor Craft assets, plus several other additional miscellaneous assets.
New Partnership
J&D is a partnership owned by Mr. John Paul DeJoria and the Jacobs Trading Company, LLC (“JTC”) headquartered in Hopkins, Minnesota. JTC is a worldwide closeout wholesaler of consumer products that has ten (10) operations and locations throughout the United States and offices in Shanghai, China.
What Does this Mean for Consumers?
There appears to be lots of good news relative to Larson, Seaswirl, FinCraft, and Triumph--
First, Irwin Jacobs told BoatTEST.com on Monday that J&D would honor all pre-Chapter 11 warranties.
Second, J&D has purchased the Little Falls, Minnesota factory. That means that not only will production go on uninterrupted by a move, but that the veteran employees in the plant will continue building the Larson, Seaswirl and FinCraft models. The same holds true for Triumph boats, which will continue to be built in its Durham, North Carolina factory.
Third, J&D has purchased the VEC technology and molds so Larson and FinCraft can continue to take advantage of that technology's advantages – light weight, precision parts, and lower cost.
Fourth, we are being told that the people who were running the boat building operations before the Genmar Chapter 11 filing and through the recapitalization process will continue to run the companies. This is good news, in our opinion, because these managers know the product, the market, the dealers, the sport, and the problems and there will not be a learning curve as there would be if new management was brought in.
Fifth, the Great Recession has taught everyone a lot of lessons, and we suspect these brands like most of the rest of the industry will be keeping inventory in line with consumption. This is good for the economic health of the builders and dealers. While for consumers this will mean that the days where non-current boats have been going for huge discounts are over, it also means that buyers won’t be owning a boat brand that is no longer in business. Orphans don’t do well on the used boat market.