MarineMax, the US’s largest recreational boat and yacht retailer, has today announced that is has acquired Northrop & Johnson, one of the largest superyacht brokerage and services companies in the world. The acquisition is expected to be characterised by gradual growth in its first year. The transaction compliments MarineMax’s 2019 acquisition of Fraser Yachts.

With the acquisition of Northrop & Johnson, MarineMax becomes a dominant player in the brokerage and superyacht services business with the organisation now having access to an even larger network of resources to support the potential for the additional growth of its client base.

According to MarineMax, the acquisition will enhance the overall customer experience through ongoing development of marketing capabilities which leverage a variety of technological solutions. It is hoped that it will further enhance client retention and stimulate lead generation and client referrals. Kevin Merrigan, CEO and chairman, and the entire Northrop & Johnson team, will continue to operate and manage its activities.

"The merger with Northrop & Johnson marks another significant step in the diversification of MarineMax into a higher margin and digitally enhanced business. On a global scale, the unified team of Fraser Yachts and Northrop & Johnson creates an unprecedented superyacht powerhouse,” comments W. Brett McGill, CEO and president of MarineMax. “From entry level boaters to the largest luxury yacht, we want our clients’ experiences to be the best in the world. The acquisition of Northrop & Johnson furthers the MarineMax commitment to fulfilling our mission of exceptional customer service, regardless of whether a client is buying, selling, insuring, building, crewing or chartering. The combination allows us to provide an even greater network to serve our customers’ shared passion for yachting. We are very excited that Kevin Merrigan has joined our team. Kevin has many years of invaluable experience and has built a team that is passionate about the industry.”

 “MarineMax stands out as best in class for boats and yachts under 120 feet. With the combination of the teams and resources of both Fraser Yachts and Northrop & Johnson, MarineMax can provide end-to-end global boating solutions as we grow the superyacht services business,” adds Kevin Merrigan. “We are delighted to join MarineMax given that we both have always maintained a family-like culture and share similar ideals and values. MarineMax is the best partner to support the continued success of Northrop & Johnson and our very strong and tenured team.”

The company also provided an update for Q2 ending 30 June, 2020, explaining “that revenue will exceed the same quarter in 2019 as retail trends continue to be driven by very strong demand for the boating lifestyle. The company’s liquidity, consisting of cash on hand and availability under its credit facility, now exceeds $180 million before considering its sizable unleveraged real estate portfolio.”

Profile links

Fraser Yachts

Northrop and Johnson (Brokerage)

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.