Fountain Aquired Baja
03-25-2008, 02:46 PM
#231
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Here are the actual facts:
1) We really do not know what the deal is / was.
2) We really do not know for sure why Reggie wanted Baja.
3) We really do not know what Reggie intends to do with Baja.
4) We really do not know how this will effect the industry.
Check back in six months and we should know if Bucyrus is closed, if the current employees received a severence, if any transfered to another Brunswick company or to Baja, and we should know by then if Reggie is building boats under the Baja name.
03-25-2008, 04:53 PM
#233
Registered User
He may not have been asked. Or had an option to say no if he was asked
Probably build vessels for Mercruiser powerplants/drivelines
Probably none. The market will only absorb as many H/P boats as it can in times of soft economy and $4 gas. At least Baja will maybe be here when things turn around.
That's no fun. How are we supposed to pretend to be industry experts if we have no forum fo our "informed" conjecture?
Probably build vessels for Mercruiser powerplants/drivelines
Probably none. The market will only absorb as many H/P boats as it can in times of soft economy and $4 gas. At least Baja will maybe be here when things turn around.
That's no fun. How are we supposed to pretend to be industry experts if we have no forum fo our "informed" conjecture?
03-25-2008, 05:33 PM
#234
Old enough to own an apache
Getting married in May
Yes I have a family
No mortgage
I'll admit my first post was pretty fn stupid in light of things. But you and everyone else need to reliaze that not everybody rakes their employees over the coals in a corporate buyout. The M&A guy already admited to that. Ultimately its up the the owners or shareholders. None of you know the specifics of their severence. I doubt the janitor will get anything, but everyone I've known who has gotten one was more than happy. And like another person metioned a buyout severance will be a lot better than nothing through bankruptcy. I will stand by my statement, if someone buys the company I work for and they give me a severance package I will be very happy and consider it a sweet deal. But I also know how to market myself and it wouldn't take me long to find a new job paying more so it would be a win-win for me. I'd consider it their loss and move forward. You can look at the glass half empty or half full.
If any baja employees are offended by my statement - I apoligize and I've taken down my previous post. My tip for you - take everything you read on OSO with a grain of salt.
Getting married in May
Yes I have a family
No mortgage
I'll admit my first post was pretty fn stupid in light of things. But you and everyone else need to reliaze that not everybody rakes their employees over the coals in a corporate buyout. The M&A guy already admited to that. Ultimately its up the the owners or shareholders. None of you know the specifics of their severence. I doubt the janitor will get anything, but everyone I've known who has gotten one was more than happy. And like another person metioned a buyout severance will be a lot better than nothing through bankruptcy. I will stand by my statement, if someone buys the company I work for and they give me a severance package I will be very happy and consider it a sweet deal. But I also know how to market myself and it wouldn't take me long to find a new job paying more so it would be a win-win for me. I'd consider it their loss and move forward. You can look at the glass half empty or half full.
If any baja employees are offended by my statement - I apoligize and I've taken down my previous post. My tip for you - take everything you read on OSO with a grain of salt.
I think that it is great that you can market yourself, take what most would consider a bad situation and reinvent yourself. More people in our country need to learn how to do that. As a nation we have probably become to complacent in that regard.
I guess the point and concern that many of us have is that the "average worker" will probably have somewhat of a tough time with that. Yes, they will live and should be able to find another job. On the other hand, some of those with families will be forced to move and will probably not be compensated to do so. That is a very stressful thing and not fun at all. As one that has moved many times in my professional life, I can tell you that it is hard. I have done so by choice. I do feel sorry for those that are forced to do so. It is expensive (if someone is not toting the relo) and disruptive to the kids/family scene.
I am still not going along with the "sweet deal" notion overall. I do agree that is a sweet deal in comparison to simply closing the doors.
My comments do not mean that I am against mergers and the survival of good companies. Yes, they have some painful attributes and no, we can not all win 100% of the time.
03-25-2008, 07:15 PM
#235
Registered
I can appreciate that you came out and addressed your first comment.
I think that it is great that you can market yourself, take what most would consider a bad situation and reinvent yourself. More people in our country need to learn how to do that. As a nation we have probably become to complacent in that regard.
I guess the point and concern that many of us have is that the "average worker" will probably have somewhat of a tough time with that. Yes, they will live and should be able to find another job. On the other hand, some of those with families will be forced to move and will probably not be compensated to do so. That is a very stressful thing and not fun at all. As one that has moved many times in my professional life, I can tell you that it is hard. I have done so by choice. I do feel sorry for those that are forced to do so. It is expensive (if someone is not toting the relo) and disruptive to the kids/family scene.
I am still not going along with the "sweet deal" notion overall. I do agree that is a sweet deal in comparison to simply closing the doors.
My comments do not mean that I am against mergers and the survival of good companies. Yes, they have some painful attributes and no, we can not all win 100% of the time.
I think that it is great that you can market yourself, take what most would consider a bad situation and reinvent yourself. More people in our country need to learn how to do that. As a nation we have probably become to complacent in that regard.
I guess the point and concern that many of us have is that the "average worker" will probably have somewhat of a tough time with that. Yes, they will live and should be able to find another job. On the other hand, some of those with families will be forced to move and will probably not be compensated to do so. That is a very stressful thing and not fun at all. As one that has moved many times in my professional life, I can tell you that it is hard. I have done so by choice. I do feel sorry for those that are forced to do so. It is expensive (if someone is not toting the relo) and disruptive to the kids/family scene.
I am still not going along with the "sweet deal" notion overall. I do agree that is a sweet deal in comparison to simply closing the doors.
My comments do not mean that I am against mergers and the survival of good companies. Yes, they have some painful attributes and no, we can not all win 100% of the time.
Somebody asked me my age...................well its the same age most of you wish you still were (26), and its the same generation that was taught by most of you............for what its worth.
03-25-2008, 07:54 PM
#237
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Hey Dock are you going to be there during the week of the 7th? My wife and two kids and I are going to be at Fort Myers Beach on the north end of the island on vacation. I'll be walking the beach looking for the performance boats or with my binoculars watching the boats go by. I'll keep an eye out and see if I see yours if we are down there the same time.
03-25-2008, 08:00 PM
#238
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Hey Dock are you going to be there during the week of the 7th? My wife and two kids and I are going to be at Fort Myers Beach on the north end of the island on vacation. I'll be walking the beach looking for the performance boats or with my binoculars watching the boats go by. I'll keep an eye out and see if I see yours if we are down there the same time.
03-25-2008, 08:14 PM
#239
And I can appreciate another lesson in life, thanks to you....... (not joking)
Somebody asked me my age...................well its the same age most of you wish you still were (26), and its the same generation that was taught by most of you............for what its worth.
Somebody asked me my age...................well its the same age most of you wish you still were (26), and its the same generation that was taught by most of you............for what its worth.
What did I do? I took another job about 6 months before it got announced. At first when I found out I was almost pissed. Europe vacation and cash down the drain for a wimpy sign on bonus at another job! I came back to visit friends in the aftermath. That's when I learned how a merger really impacts people. I had been on the buying side several times and literally seen the tears in my office. It was not until I saw it impact my good friends and others that I knew well that I really understood. In the end I finally realized that moving on before it happened was probably better than seeing peoples lives rearranged so much. I talked to those that were single and could goof around. They told me how worthless they felt after a month or so.
Since then I have seen it many times over. I am glad about one thing. I too learned to adapt before it happened to me.
03-26-2008, 10:44 AM
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NEW INFO JUST CAME TO PRINT
Reggie Fountain is now the planet’s largest builder of high performance boats.
According to Reggie Fountain, he has been in negotiations with Brunswick Corp., owner of Baja Marine, for almost a year. “This transaction was not forced on me,” Fountain said in an interview yesterday. “All of my lawyers, bankers, and advisors have said this is a good deal for Fountain Powerboats and I’m very happy with it,” he said.
Fountain says that the $5 million loss reported for last year wasn’t as bad as it sounds as a significant portion of it was for “book write-offs.” He said that last month the company bought back $1 million worth of its own stock, and he said that neither he nor Brunswick were any longer guarantors of the company’s debt.
“They [Brunswick] wanted Fountain to have it and now I’ll be the largest exclusive user for Mercury Racing engines,” Fountain said.
Future Plans
“We’re planning on only one sales and marketing staff so this acquisition will allow me to spread our overhead over many more units,” Fountain said. Baja Marine has 86 dealers and Fountain has 26, giving the combined company over 100 dealers, all specializing in high performance boats. That will undoubtedly be the largest dealer network in the category and with boats at all price points it may provide tough competition for the few remaining high performance builders.
Keeping 10 Baja Models
“We will let the best Baja dealers sell Fountains, and the best Fountain dealers sell Bajas, so long as there is not a conflict in territories,” he said. Reggie went on to say they he would discontinue the smallest Bajas and start with the 23 and go up from there, keeping in production about 10 of the company's existing 18 models.
In their best years Fountain booked $80 million in sales and Baja Marine booked $70 million, according to Fountain. The last several years, however, have been difficult for both companies. In fiscal 2007 Baja Marine was down 19% in annual sales to about 711 units, 84% of which were under 30’. Fountain was down 7% to about 350 units for the same period.
Two Different Ends of the Market
Fountain’s smallest sport boat is 33’ and its smallest fishboat is a 31’ center console. The company reported sales of $68 million in 2007, of which $28 million was from the fishboat product line.
The merger of these two quite different high performance product lines has many industry observers scratching their heads because Fountain has avoided low price-point boats, and that has been Baja’s market niche. Also, long ago Fountain gave up the small boat market where Baja has most of its business. Nevertheless, Reggie Fountain is unfazed by this apparent contradiction in market strategy saying that he looks forward to moving Baja owners up into larger, more expensive Fountains.
“People have been saying for years that we were going out of business, but we’re still here,” Fountain said. “In the meantime Cigarette, Wellcraft, Chris-Craft and other high performance builders have all undergone restructuring and ownership changes.”
Baja Marine employs about 285 people at its plant in Bucyrus, Ohio. Brunswick has announced that production will wind up there in May, 2008. Fountain said that he is currently considering incentive offers from a number of different cities and states and that he will make a decision in a few months as to where he will end up building the Bajas. “We have 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Washington, NC, and I can always put on a second shift,” Fountain said.
Fountain said he will change the name of the company to “Baja by Fountain.”
Reggie Fountain is now the planet’s largest builder of high performance boats.
According to Reggie Fountain, he has been in negotiations with Brunswick Corp., owner of Baja Marine, for almost a year. “This transaction was not forced on me,” Fountain said in an interview yesterday. “All of my lawyers, bankers, and advisors have said this is a good deal for Fountain Powerboats and I’m very happy with it,” he said.
Fountain says that the $5 million loss reported for last year wasn’t as bad as it sounds as a significant portion of it was for “book write-offs.” He said that last month the company bought back $1 million worth of its own stock, and he said that neither he nor Brunswick were any longer guarantors of the company’s debt.
“They [Brunswick] wanted Fountain to have it and now I’ll be the largest exclusive user for Mercury Racing engines,” Fountain said.
Future Plans
“We’re planning on only one sales and marketing staff so this acquisition will allow me to spread our overhead over many more units,” Fountain said. Baja Marine has 86 dealers and Fountain has 26, giving the combined company over 100 dealers, all specializing in high performance boats. That will undoubtedly be the largest dealer network in the category and with boats at all price points it may provide tough competition for the few remaining high performance builders.
Keeping 10 Baja Models
“We will let the best Baja dealers sell Fountains, and the best Fountain dealers sell Bajas, so long as there is not a conflict in territories,” he said. Reggie went on to say they he would discontinue the smallest Bajas and start with the 23 and go up from there, keeping in production about 10 of the company's existing 18 models.
In their best years Fountain booked $80 million in sales and Baja Marine booked $70 million, according to Fountain. The last several years, however, have been difficult for both companies. In fiscal 2007 Baja Marine was down 19% in annual sales to about 711 units, 84% of which were under 30’. Fountain was down 7% to about 350 units for the same period.
Two Different Ends of the Market
Fountain’s smallest sport boat is 33’ and its smallest fishboat is a 31’ center console. The company reported sales of $68 million in 2007, of which $28 million was from the fishboat product line.
The merger of these two quite different high performance product lines has many industry observers scratching their heads because Fountain has avoided low price-point boats, and that has been Baja’s market niche. Also, long ago Fountain gave up the small boat market where Baja has most of its business. Nevertheless, Reggie Fountain is unfazed by this apparent contradiction in market strategy saying that he looks forward to moving Baja owners up into larger, more expensive Fountains.
“People have been saying for years that we were going out of business, but we’re still here,” Fountain said. “In the meantime Cigarette, Wellcraft, Chris-Craft and other high performance builders have all undergone restructuring and ownership changes.”
Baja Marine employs about 285 people at its plant in Bucyrus, Ohio. Brunswick has announced that production will wind up there in May, 2008. Fountain said that he is currently considering incentive offers from a number of different cities and states and that he will make a decision in a few months as to where he will end up building the Bajas. “We have 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Washington, NC, and I can always put on a second shift,” Fountain said.
Fountain said he will change the name of the company to “Baja by Fountain.”
