Raymarine announces intention to float
by Raymarine / ADPR 8 Nov 2004 15:35 GMT
Raymarine Group Limited (“Raymarine”), one of the world’s largest suppliers of leisure marine electronic products, today announces its intention to seek a listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The intended flotation will be by way of a placing of existing ordinary shares in the Company with institutional investors (the “Placing”). Hawkpoint is acting as Sponsor and Financial Adviser. Collins Stewart is acting as Broker.
Introduction:
Raymarine is one of the world’s largest suppliers of marine electronic products to the leisure boating market. It designs, manufactures and distributes a comprehensive range of marine electronic products including, autopilots, radar, instruments, fishfinders, chartplotters and communication devices, together with multifunction products. Raymarine’s products are used by leisure boaters to enhance their enjoyment and, importantly, their safety whilst out on the water. Raymarine’s products are typically fitted to both power and sail boats of between twenty and one hundred feet in length.
Raymarine was formed to acquire Raytheon’s Recreational Marine Division in a management buy out backed by HgCapital in January 2001. Since the buy-out, the Group has invested significantly in the growth and profitability of the business, with particular focus being placed on developing new products and on strengthening the Group’s sales and marketing teams. In addition, there have been a number of additions to the senior management team which now consists of Malcolm Miller (Chief Executive), Tony Osbaldiston (Finance Director), Terry Carlson (President of Americas and Head of Global Product Management) and Kieran Breheny (Design and Development Director).
In the year ended 31 December 2003 Raymarine’s turnover was approximately £94 million.
Key strengths:
The Directors believe the Group’s key strengths, which have contributed to its success to date, are:
- Raymarine’s position as one of the world leaders in the supply of marine electronic products to the leisure boating market;
- its well-recognised brand and reputation for producing innovative and reliable products in a safety conscious environment. Leisure boaters necessarily place great reliance on the reliability of the electronic products as they ensure that boaters know where they are and what is around them, and allow communication when out on the water. The Directors believe that the requirement for a track record demonstrating reliability represents a key barrier to entry against other electronic manufacturers entering the market;
- its ability to offer a comprehensive portfolio of marine electronic products for the leisure boating market, combined with its strength in networked and integrated systems which enable different products to interface and communicate with each other. The combination of these two attributes allows boat users to have a single range of linked products from the same manufacturer providing full functionality with improved aesthetics. The Directors believe that this type of systems integration is increasingly becoming an important driver of sales growth;
- its strong customer relationships, loyal customer base and ability to sell products in Europe, North and South America and Australasia through its network of dealers, distributors and through OEM boat builders and national retailers;
- its world wide support network and reputation for providing high quality after sales support. Many boaters use their boats infrequently and for short periods and therefore value the ability to have products supported and serviced quickly in virtually any port or marina they visit. Raymarine has a network of approximately 960 service dealers around the world covering most major leisure ports and marinas; and
- Raymarine’s strong, well regarded management team with extensive experience in developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer products. Since the buy-out, the management team has been demonstrably successful in designing and launching new products and increasing the scale of the business.
Market drivers:
The Directors anticipate that drivers of future growth in the leisure marine electronics market will include:
- advances in technology making electronic marine equipment more affordable and easier to use;
- increased speed of product innovation leading to more frequent upgrading of equipment, with customers demanding increasing functionality and ease of use;
- increasing demand from boaters for integrated and networked products which are able to communicate and interface with each other; and
- the use of existing technologies to expand the leisure marine electronics markets by adding further functionality to existing systems.
In addition, the Directors believe that the leisure marine electronics market will benefit from the anticipated growth in disposable incomes and growth in the number of increasingly wealthy, older people in the US and Europe who have the leisure time to go boating.
Reasons for Admission:
Raymarine is seeking Admission to:
- raise its corporate profile;
- gain an attractive acquisition currency;
- secure a more diversified shareholder base;
- enable HgCapital to realise a proportion of its investment; and
- facilitate the further incentivisation of key management and employees.
Raymarine is not raising any new money in connection with the Placing.
Malcolm Miller, Chief Executive, commented today:
“Raymarine has a long history as a supplier of marine electronic products and we look forward to a listing on the London Stock Exchange as the next logical step in the company’s development.
We believe that a listing will enable us to take advantage of growth opportunities in our markets.”
Enquiries:
Raymarine Group Limited 023 9271 4711
Malcolm Miller, Chief Executive Officer
Tony Osbaldiston, Finance Director
Hawkpoint Partners Limited (Sponsor and Financial Adviser) 020 7665 4500
David Renton
Graham Paton
Collins Stewart plc (Broker) 020 7523 8350
Stephen Keys
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (PR Advisers) 020 7638 9571
Ginny Pulbrook
Sara Batchelor
The contents of this announcement, which have been prepared by and are the sole responsibility of Raymarine Group Limited, have been approved by Hawkpoint Partners Limited solely for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Hawkpoint Partners Limited and Collins Stewart Limited, each of which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, are acting for Raymarine Group Limited in relation to the proposed flotation and equity offering and for no one else, and will not be responsible to anyone other than Raymarine Group Limited for providing the protections offered to their respective clients nor for providing advice in relation to the proposed flotation and equity offering.
No offer or invitation to acquire shares in Raymarine Group Limited is being made by or in connection with this announcement. Any such offer will be made solely by means of listing particulars to be published in due course and any acquisition of shares should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in such document and any supplements thereto.
The value of shares can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Persons needing advice should consult a professional adviser.
This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. There will be no public offering of securities in the United States.
This announcement and the information contained herein are not for publication, distribution or release in, or into, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of Ireland.
Certain statements contained in this announcement are or may constitute “forward looking statements”. Such forward looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of the Company, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, dependency on key customers, difficulties in forecasting demand, dependency on key suppliers, delays in the introduction of new products, decreases in demand for the Group’s products, the Company’s failure to introduce new products and to implement new techniques and general economic and business conditions, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. These forward looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Stabilisation/FSA.
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