On Apr 22, 10:13?pm, "Mike" wrote:
Sheez Chuck... there you go again. Will you ever stop?? This forum is about
boats, not astrology... g

--Mike

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message

ups.com...



From AP:

PARIS (AP) - Groupe Zodiac, a maker of inflatable boats, said
Wednesday it began discussions with private equity company Carlyle
Group about a possible sale of its Zodiac Marine business to a joint
venture between the two companies.

The transfer of Zodiac Marine would be realized on the basis of an
enterprise value - or market capitalization plus debt - of about 1.01
billion (US$1.4 billion).

If the deal is successful, Carlyle would own 72 percent and Zodiac
would own 28 percent of the holding company of the new group, Zodiac
said in a statement.

The transaction "would allow the Zodiac Group ... to reinforce its
acquisition capabilities in the aerospace sector," said Zodiac Chief
Executive Jean-Louis Gerondeau.

Zodiac said it would use the proceeds of the deal to finance
acquisitions, cut debt, and buy back shares.

Shares in Zodiac rose 4.6 percent to 57.48 (US$77.87) in Paris.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

So is my post.

The ownership of a manufacturing compay can influence the type of
boats that will be built in the future, the general quality of the
product, etc. Several people have posted in this forum thay they own a
Zodiac (as do I). Zodiac is certainly one of the top half dozen or so
suppliers of inflatables to the pleasure boat industry.

This particular acquisition is additionally significant because of the
identity of the group purchasing Zodiac. There would be about 100
opportunities to identify some of the movers and shakers at Carlyle,
speculate about upcoming transactions with a particular agency, etc
etc etc etc etc......but it would be hard to go there without
interjecting speculation and (worse) political opinion so I will
settle for simply reporting the facts surrounding the impending change
of ownership of a French (!) company. :-)