Sunseeker: confirmation awaited on sale to US investment company

Confirmation awaited on sale of Sunseeker to US investment company reports. 

It is now almost a week since reports appeared in Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post indicating that the UK-based luxury yacht build Sunseeker International has been sold by its Chinese owners, the Dalian Wanda Group to Lionheart Capital, a Miami-headquartered investment firm.

Since those initial media reports none of the three businesses involved have issued a confirmation about any such transaction. The media reports suggested that the division of Dalian Wanda that owns Sunseeker had signed a sale and purchase agreement with Lionheart capital that would see a change of ownership.

It was projected that the deal, which will be subject to UK regulatory approval, could be completed as early as next month.

A potential reason for the sale appears to be that Dalian Wanda, a huge Chinese conglomerate owning shipping malls, real estate and entertainment centres, is has been facing serious financial challenges for some time and that it needs to sell assets to reduce its debts and fend off a possible bankruptcy.

If the change of ownership goes ahead, it would mean a continuation of the three leading UK luxury motor yacht builders being owned by foreign entities. Princess Yachts is owned by the American private equity group, KPS Capital Partners, while Fairline Yachts is controlled by a Luxembourg-headquartered private equity house.

Sunseeker International, founded in 1969, was bought by Dalian Wanda acquiring a 92% stake for around £320m in 2013. This stake has since increased and is now understood to total at least 96%. A number of Sunseeker boats have appeared in James Bond movies such as Casino Royale, Die Another Day and Quantum of Solace.

As to Lionheart Capital, it is a diversified investment firm focused on building shareholder value in high-growth companies. It’s principals have been involved in the successful acquisition, development, repositioning and disposition of real estate and publicly-traded assets for over 30 years.

Lionheart’s key investment areas are retail, commercial property, residential and hospitality and private and publicly-listed companies. Among the latter segment of its interests is the World Champion Cigarette Racing Team which is described as ‘an American Offshore Legend’, which has been owned by Lionheart since 2021.

This US brand builds a range of seven hand-crafted boats between 38ft and 59ft which focus on performance, power, precision and comfort. They have model names like Top Gun, Thunder and Night Hawk. Ironically the Cigarette business was found in 1969, the same year as Sunseeker International.

Lionheart Capital’s founder and CEO is Ophir Sternberg and the spread of companies owned by the group includes restaurant chains, technology companies and a reimbursement specialist.

Wang Jianling, Dalian Wanda’s chairman said at the time of buying Sunseeker that “the investment was driven by growth in China’s consumption of high-end luxury products.”

Dalian Wanda’s link with Sunseeker originally involved the Chinese group wanting to buy some 30 Sunseekers to serve charter operations at three marinas planned to be built in the north, middle and south of China. Only one was ever built but this project resulted in Dalian Wanda deciding to buy the brand. And has supported it strongly ever since.

Only last year Dalian Wanda confirmed £40m investment for product development and changes to the build facilities in Poole.