August Equity LLP (“August Equity”) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Boat International Media Limited (“Boat”) has acquired Showboats International (“Showboats”) and its associated publications, events and websites for an undisclosed value.
Showboats is the USA’s premier luxury yacht publication and is highly complementary to Boat’s existing portfolio of superyacht media assets. Its readership includes high-net-worth yacht owners, builders, brokers, captains, and designers, and it has a circulation of c.50,000. Boat will continue to invest in Showboats and will merge its own US magazine, Boat International USA, with the title from the next issue.
Tony Harris, CEO of Boat, said “This deal gives us the leading magazine brand serving the US superyacht market and greatly enhances our position as the leading media company serving the global superyacht market. Showboats has an impressive 25 year history in this market and will be a great addition to our global portfolio and enable us to be the clear No1 media choice in the US, the most important superyacht market in the world.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Fraser Davidson of August Equity, said: “We are excited by the Showboats acquisition, which further consolidates Boat’s position as the world’s leading superyacht media group. We are continuously looking for ways to develop our portfolio companies and are pleased to have been able to work closely with the Boat management team to consummate and finance this transaction.”
August Equity initially completed the management buy-out of Boat in December 2006.