Warbird Marine Holdings, formed by EagleTree Capital to invest in category-leading boatbuilders and managed by industry veteran John Dorton, announced it acquired Yellowfin Yachts. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Yellowfin will be a separately managed sister company to Invincible Boat Co., which Warbird acquired in 2019.
“We are delighted to add Yellowfin to our Warbird platform. Yellowfin is at the pinnacle of their segment both in product lineup and brand prestige,” Warbird CEO Dorton said in a statement.
Warbird said in the statement that it is now the “largest and best capitalized designer and builder of custom offshore fishing boats.”
“The Yellowfin team will remain in place at their Sarasota headquarters with Wylie Nagler as president,” Dorton said. “The Yellowfin and Invincible brands have their own personalities and design philosophies, and we intend to keep it that way.”
Warbird said it will invest in Yellowfin’s facilities, people and new-product development — the same business approach that ushered in Invincible’s success.
“At Yellowfin, we have always strived to build the best boat by using the best materials — the best hardware, the best systems,” said Nagler, who founded Yellowfin in 1998. “Joining forces with Warbird and John Dorton gives us the scale and resources of the Warbird platform without changing Yellowfin’s DNA or our relentless focus on quality.”
“By combining the resources of these two great businesses, Warbird will be able to accelerate innovation, invest in quality and customer service, expand capacity, and ensure timely deliveries to our valued customers and distributors,” Dorton said. “Our goal is to set a new bar for the premium center console segment.”