Polaris, Rinker, and business value

benvenuttioki

I read an article this morning saying Brunswick reported 44% year-over-year growth this quarter. That brought me back to something I’ve never understood... Why would Polaris buy Rinker only to shut them down a few years later? What value were they after that sparked the purchase? Did they get what they paid for, or panic in the face of COVID? Certainly future earnings went to zero. Intellectual property? Capital assets? Elimination of competition? I just don’t get it. What did they see and how did it work out?

My 2017 370 was the president’s boat, purchased from Rinker in 2019. I thought at the time he must be getting a new 2020 model. Wrong!!!!

YYZRC

Polaris bought Boat Holdings which included Rinker. I’m guessing that shutdown plans for Rinker were underway before COVID hit and maybe even part of the plan at acquisition. Rinker was obviously the least valuable of the four brands. 

Very labor intensive to build fibreglass boats and I don’t get the impression that it is very profitable at low volume and Rinker’s relatively low prices. 

RiverRat232

If nothing else, it was probably a nice loss to write off. But Polaris isn't the only one. Volvo bought 7 Marine and promptly closed it's doors even though there was demand for 7 Marine engines. 

Lake_Bum

Most boat companies have already stopped taking orders for their 2022 boats.  The industry has absolutely EXPLODED.  It was a huge fail by Polaris

benvenuttioki

YYZRC said:

Polaris bought Boat Holdings which included Rinker. I’m guessing that shutdown plans for Rinker were underway before COVID hit and maybe even part of the plan at acquisition. Rinker was obviously the least valuable of the four brands. 

Maybe that’s the key... they bought for the pontoon and deck boats. Rinker was a casualty that couldn’t be spun or sold. Found this link interesting:   https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/sa_presentations/610/28610/original.pdf

Cableguy Greg

I was talking to a few people that were close to Rinker and the only reason Polaris purchased boat holdings was for the pontoon business. They are now one of the largest manufacturers of pontoon boats in North America. 

randy56

I heard the same as Cable. Rinker was the weakest of all the brands, Not doing so well in the last few years. A fine boat how ever not enough sales. The Hurricane brand deck boat (fiberglass)  has always sold in big numbers. It is a no frill's deck boat reasonbly priced, and a good boat.  Pontoons and center consols dominate the boat market.

Had read the above artical before, good read. Polaris made a good move buying Boat holdings. Shame they ditched Rinker. We all hated it.