February 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. Hodgdon Yachts Signs Intent for Boothbay Region Boatyard
EAST BOOTHBAY - Hodgdon Yachts and Boothbay Region Boatyard announced they have signed a letter of intent to merge Boothbay Region Boatyard in Southport and Wotton’s Wharf in Boothbay Harbor with Hodgdon Yachts. The combination is expected to become fi nal this spring. Hodgdon Yachts President Timothy Hodgdon said, “Combining Boothbay Re- gion Boatyard’s outstanding facilities in Southport and Wotton’s Wharf in Boothbay Harbor with our facilities in East Boothbay, Richmond and Damariscotta will create one of Maine’s largest, full-service marine com- panies. We look forward to continuing to serve Boothbay Region Boatyard’s existing customers while aggressively pursuing op- portunities to grow the combined business.” Boothbay Region Boatyard will con- tinue to provide maintenance and repair service to vessels ranging from outboard motorboats to yachts up to 80 feet. Hodg- don added, “The team at Boothbay Region Boatyard is highly regarded for their service capabilities and expertise in fi berglass, boat carpentry, fi nish, and electrical and mechan- ical services. We look forward to welcoming them to the Hodgdon Yachts team.” After the combination of the two businesses and the addition of approximately 30 employees at Boothbay Region Boatyard, Hodgdon will employ about 150 people in the Boothbay region. Wotton’s Wharf, owned by Boothbay Region Boatyard, offers transient deep-wa- ter dockage for yachts up to 200 feet. Locat- ed on the west side of Boothbay Harbor, it is the home base to the annual Shipyard Cup™, a Hodgdon founded and hosted superyacht regatta that draws competitors from around the world and infuses signifi cant dollars into the region each summer. Sandy Spaulding, Hodgdon Yachts se- nior business advisor, will serve as interim general manager of Boothbay Region Boat- yard as Hodgdon conducts a national search to permanently fi ll the position.
Sandy added that he was not planning any changes at Boothbay Region Boatyard. He said that in the big picture this was an excellent fi t and allows Hodgdon to offer service to customers they could not do before. In fact he said that in the past they missed a couple of new boat sales because they did not offer service.
This combination is part of an ongoing
effort by Hodgdon to diversify the fi fth-gen- eration-run company, one of the Boothbay region’s largest private employers. Over the past 12 years, Hodgdon has grown from its roots as an internationally-known custom yacht builder to also become an industry leader in high-quality yacht construction involving innovative advanced composites design and construction, custom tenders for superyachts, yacht interiors, and projects for the United States Department of Defense. This new service division will add a signifi - cant element of diversifi cation to the overall company. For Boothbay Region Boatyard, this combination will provide top-level management and opportunities to attract more project and refi t work for yachts up to 80 feet.
Once the merger becomes fi nal, Hodg- don will be operating facilities in all three of the Boothbay region’s communities - Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport - in addition to a location in Richmond and a new location in Damariscotta. The release of this news caused quite a buzz along the coast and rightfully so. It is no secret that the person behind Boothbay Region Boatyard is billionaire John Malone, who has a summer home close by and stores two of his boats at the yard. He is a very interesting businessman making his money in telecommunications. He is chairman of Liberty Media, and Liberty Global and is now the largest landowner in the United States, with over two million acres, most of which is in the State of Maine. He also owns DirectTV and is absorbing the rest of Sirius XM satellite radio. Liberty Media has
JOHANSON BOATWORKS Full Service Yacht Yard
An ariel view of the Boothbay Region Boat Yard on Southport Island.
also made an offer on Time Warner Cable. Just recently Liberty Global added Ziggo, the largest cable provider to the Dutch, for $9 billion. Last year they purchase Virgin Media for $16 billion.
Hodgdon has always been considered one of the best boatbuilders in the world and have made quite a reputation in the me- ga-yacht and tender market. They have built several boats for John Malone, including the 80-foot commuter yacht LIBERTY and one can guess they have a good relationship. For Hodgdon being just a boatbuilder can be a problem when times get slow and having a full service boat yard gives them latitude and better fi nancial stability. This is not just good
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for Hodgdon but also the State as it creates more notoriety for the boating industry of Maine. Now we all just sit back and watch to see where the future takes them.
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