Land 'N' Sea to triple its business, with Brunswick's help   LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Brunswick Corp.'s (NYSE: BC) acquisition of Land 'N' Sea Corp., announced yesterday afternoon, is part of a bigger strategy to grow boating as a form of recreation, said Randy Gray, vice president and general manager for Brunswick's boat parts and accessories division, in an interview today. "At the end of the day, this will take a lot of hassles out of boating, [which will] bring people back into boating and help us more effectively compete for the RV customer," he said. Land 'N' Sea, which will become the distribution arm of Brunswick's parts and accessories business, currently possesses same-day service capability, a capability that eventually will be expanded to all Brunswick's dealers, allowing them to get their customers back on the water quickly. However, the expansion will not just include Brunswick dealers. Gray explained that Land 'N' Sea will be an "agnostic" operation, serving all customers equally. The acquisition was made for total consideration of approximately $52 million, which consists of $9 million in cash, notes issued to the seller, the assumption of debt and a previous investment, the company reported. Building a dedicated boat parts and accessories business Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Land 'N' Sea is the largest distributor of marine parts and accessories in North America, more than twice the size of its nearest competitor, according to Gray, handling more than 30,000 different boat and engine parts. It will be part of the Brunswick Boat Group. "This transaction is the first step in establishing and building a dedicated boat parts and accessories business," explained Dustan E. McCoy, president of the Brunswick Boat Group. "We aim to improve service to our own boat dealers as well as to the more than 10,000 independent dealers and repair shops that already trust and rely on Land 'N' Sea. In the past, the individual members of the Brunswick Boat Group acted autonomously, Gray explained. McCoy said that among other things, the acquisition will allow Brunswick to "envelop our dealers with products and services that will add value and profitability to their businesses." "We see significant synergies and opportunities within both the Brunswick framework and the marine industry as a whole to expand this business," said George W. Buckley, chairman and chief executive officer of Brunswick Corporation. "Our dealers are a vital part of our business model, and we believe we can get closer to them and serve as their primary source for a multitude of captive and non-captive after-market parts and accessories by providing superior service and delivery. We can thereby remove a major frustration for both our dealers and our consumers." Among the capabilities that acquisition brings to Brunswick are: "an established and proven distribution infrastructure, immediate management and systems capability, a broad range of boat parts, sourcing expertise and the opportunity to leverage the volumes of the new combined entities' existing customer and supplier relationships," explained Gray. Growing Land 'N' Sea's business With 11 distribution centers throughout North America, Land 'N' Sea has the largest distribution network in the marine industry and currently offers same-day or next-day delivery to roughly 60 percent of the marine dealers in North America, according to Brunswick. Brunswick's strategy for the future includes growing these rapid delivery capabilities geographically, as well as growing the volume of products offered by the distribution arm. "We plan to fairly rapidly extend that coverage coast-to-coast," stated Gray. This expansion is expected to triple Land 'N' Sea's business over the next five years, Gray stated. One way it may accomplish that goal is through growing the number of parts carried by the distributors in Mercury Marine's current Quickparts distribution network, Gray explained. Brunswick also may take advantage of Mercury's distribution network outside the United States, he added. Expansion means more, not less, employees After many months of negotiation, Land 'N' Sea President Bill Slansky said he is "delighted and encouraged by this transaction," which he said "makes enormous sense for Land 'N' Sea." In an interview today, Slansky said the company's strategic plan for many years has been to grow in terms of volume and geography. The acquisition, and the resources and talent that it brings to the company, will allow Land 'N' Sea to "shorten the time frame and have even more coverage," he added. Because of the company's plans for expansion, no employees will be laid off due to the acquisition – in fact, Brunswick plans to grow the Land 'N' Sea employee base. "It's not often in these economically challenging economic times that you can say you will be expanding the employee numbers," stated Gray. Land 'N' Sea's management team also will remain in place. Customers and manufacturers with whom the company interacts should not expect changes in the way they do business with the distributor "in the foreseeable future," Slansky added, though he said the company may expand its business with some of them as it grows.