Bavaria Yachtbau enters 'self-administration'

Cash-strapped Bavaria Yachtbau has applied and now been ordered to take provisional 'self-administration' by the district court of Würzburg (April 23, 2018).

The top priority for the giant German boatbuilder is to secure sound financial backing, restructure and move forward.

Meantime, the shipyard operations will continue seamlessly over the next few months, Bavaria Yachtbau says.

As the delivery season is currently in full swing, the new arrangements and self-administration will make it possible to process a large order backlog.

Bavaria Yachtbau's local agents say current and future orders coming out of Europe will continue in a "business as usual" manner.

SELF-ADMINISTRATION
>> Executive management has full legal authority
>> Wages and salaries will be secured until June 2018 using insolvency compensation
>> Restructuring expert Dr. Tobias Brinkmann from Brinkmann & Partner joins executive management
>> The goal of the process is to implement an investor solution

The existing executive management is being expanded to include Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, a specialist insolvency lawyer and partner in the national law firm Brinkmann & Partner, who has extensive experience reorganising shipyards.

The previous CEO, Lutz Henkel, left the executive management last week.

BAVARIA BACKGROUND
"In the current situation, we will continue to provide our customers with the customary high quality," says Erik Appel, COO.

"We have many years of experience building high-quality yachts and are industry leaders in technology in many areas," says Appel.

In a good market position, with some 600 employees, Bavaria Yachtbau was founded in 1978, and is among the market leaders in European yacht building. But it hasn't been all smooth sailing...

In June 2007, the US private equity investor Bain Capital acquired the company from the founders. After the market crash of 2008, Bain Capital transferred control to US private equity investors Anchorage Advisors and Oaktree Capital Management, which each took 45 percent of shares in October 2009. It appears that these investors are now pulling out or looking for an exit strategy to allow as much.

The 'self-administration' refers exclusively to Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH. The French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS in Rochefort will continue to operate as normal.

LOCAL IMPACT
Bavaria's largely powerboat line-up (latest E34 pictured) will remain unchanged at the 2018 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show opening May 24-27, we're told, as will its sales and ordering processes.

Production and deliveries are to continue as normal, Bavaria trumpeted in the headline accompanying its announcement of 'self-administration.'

Nonetheless, the announcement from one of the biggest boatbuilders in the world has been received with surprise, even by long-serving Bavaria importers, and it's far from confidence-inspiring for new-boat buyers.

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