Malibu Boats, Inc. Acquires Saxdor Yachts

Saxdor’s flagship 460 GTC featuring award-winning design, Scandinavian styling and functional luxury

March 10, 2026

Malibu Boats, Inc. Accelerates Its Global Expansion with the Acquisition of Category Disruptor Saxdor Yachts, One of the World’s Fastest-Growing Boat Brands

Malibu Boats, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBUU) (“Malibu”, “MBI” or the “Company”), a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a diverse range of recreational powerboats and marine-services, announced on March 2nd, that it has acquired Saxdor Yachts (“Saxdor”), a leading European designer and manufacturer of premium adventure dayboats and one of the world’s fastest-growing boat brands, for approximately EUR 150 million (USD $175 million), representing a valuation of approximately 7.2x estimated EBITDA1 for the twelve months ending March 31, 2026.

Founded in 2019 in Helsinki, Finland by visionary entrepreneur Sakari Mattila, Saxdor Yachts has rapidly emerged as one of Europe’s most dynamic premium performance boatbuilders. Its award-winning models fuse advanced hull engineering, modern Scandinavian design and highly functional luxury at an exceptional value – redefining expectations in the premium adventure dayboat segment. Since its inception, Saxdor has produced and delivered over 2,000 boats worldwide and built a team of over 800 employees at its three engineering and manufacturing facilities in Finland and Poland.

“Guided by our build, innovate, and grow framework, we set a high bar for acquisitions – and Saxdor clears it easily with world-class boats, industry-leading growth and global reach” said Steve Menneto, Chief Executive Officer of Malibu. “With Saxdor, we are taking a meaningful step towards our vision of becoming a global marine solutions and services provider. The strategic merits of this transaction extend beyond increased scale and portfolio expansion – it also establishes a global manufacturing footprint which provides for improved sourcing, expanded service capabilities, and a deeper distribution infrastructure – creating a more diversified, more resilient platform that can deliver results through market cycles.”

Transaction Highlights:

            • Leader in the Fastest-Growing Segment: Acquires one of the world’s fastest-growing boat brands, operating in the $2.5 billion adventure dayboat category – the most dynamic segment in global recreational boating, which the Company estimates to be growing at a 15% CAGR according to SSI data (2023-2025). Saxdor achieved year-over-year constant currency1 revenue growth of approximately 65% in calendar 2025 and is expected to generate revenue of USD $225–235 million for the 12 months ending March 31, 2026.

            • Enhances the MBI Portfolio: Fills strategic whitespace between Cobalt’s luxury sterndrive positioning and Pursuit’s offshore capability, offering premium luxury at competitive price points. Saxdor extends consumer reach to a sought-after demographic of younger, affluent, and “new-to-boating” buyers worldwide. North America — home to approximately 67% of the world’s high-net-worth adults and the fastest-growing major wealth market — represents just 33% of Saxdor’s revenue today, underscoring significant runway for growth under MBI’s distribution, services, and manufacturing infrastructure.

            • Global Distribution Synergy: Saxdor currently distributes through a dedicated network of over 100 dealer locations in more than 50 countries across 5 continents, including North America, where Saxdor enjoys a strong and growing partnership with MarineMax, Inc. For the year ended December 31, 2025, sales in Europe and North America accounted for approximately 50% and 33%, respectively, of Saxdor’s total revenue. MBI believes there is a significant opportunity to scale Saxdor into a global leader in recreational boating by further developing Saxdor’s existing distribution footprint while also exploring long-term opportunities to enhance global reach and consumer access across the combined portfolio.

            • Expanding Profit Margins are Immediately Accretive: As Saxdor continues to scale its production and deliver industry-leading growth, its profitability continues to expand as well. For the 12 months ending March 31, 2026, Saxdor is expected to generate EBITDA margins1 of 10-11% with an outlook towards further margin growth in Malibu’s Fiscal 2027. The addition of Saxdor will be immediately accretive to MBI’s adjusted EBITDA margin profile and is expected to accelerate the Company’s long-term margin expansion.

            • Valuation and Structure Support EPS Accretion and Continued Capital Returns: Based on the transaction valuation and the consideration mix of 73% cash and 27% stock, the acquisition of Saxdor is expected to be accretive to MBI’s earnings per share in the current fiscal year and significantly accretive in Fiscal 2027. The balanced funding structure results in pro forma net leverage1 of approximately 1.5x, well below the Company’s stated maximum net leverage1 of 2.5x, thus preserving the Company’s financial flexibility to invest in future growth initiatives while continuing to return capital to shareholders.

            • Multiple Value Creation Opportunities: MBI Advantage to drive incremental value and operating efficiencies through procurement, scale, vertical integration via Marine Components, and an opportunity to meaningfully increase MBI’s North American manufacturing utilization. Management also expects to extend MBI Acceptance retail financing and dealer service capabilities to Saxdor’s growing customer base, further diversifying MBI’s revenue streams and strengthening the durability of the Company across market cycles.

Mr. Menneto added, “What Sakari Mattila and the entire Saxdor team have built over the past five years is truly remarkable. Their innovation engine, world-class design and bold brand positioning have redefined the adventure dayboat category. We are thrilled to welcome them into the MBI family. Saxdor’s brand resonates with an exciting consumer segment we’ve been eager to reach – a younger, affluent, adventure-oriented demographic of boaters around the world who are resilient buyers and attracted to Scandinavian design and functional luxury.”

Sakari Mattila, Founder and Chief Designer of Saxdor, added, “When I founded Saxdor in 2019, I wanted to create something completely different – boats that would speak to a new generation of boaters who value both cutting-edge technology and timeless design. After three decades in marine innovation, I’ve learned that the best boats aren’t just built, they’re reimagined. We have an unprecedented pipeline of breakthrough models that represent our commitment to disrupting traditional boating in this high-growth adventure dayboat category of the market. The entire team at Saxdor is thrilled to join forces with MBI to provide greater global access to our award-winning product line.”

Related Posts




Recreational Marine Industry Applauds Removal of the Luxury Tax on Boats in Budget 2025

NMMA Canada

OTTAWA (November 4, 2025)—Canada’s boating industry applauds Budget 2025’s commitment to remove the devastating luxury tax on boats, a failed tax policy that unfairly punished Canadian manufacturers and workers. When the luxury tax was first implemented in September 2022, Canada’s marine industry leaders were quick to point out the impending losses of middle-class jobs, government tax revenues and sales declines.

Read More




Need to Catch up on News This Week?

Every Tuesday we publish a fresh Digest with informative articles pertaining to the Canadian boating and marine industry. Stay up to date with the latest products, research and industry developments.

Missed an Issue of Boating Industry Canada News Week? If you’re looking for a specific issue, or simply want to catch up on previous issues, check out our Boating Industry Canada News Week Archives.

Not signed up for News Week? Subscribe here.



Introducing the All-New Axopar 38 

Axopar pioneers once again to set new standards, with the Axopar 38 range marking a new era in adventure boating. The first model of the range debuted at Boot Düsseldorf 2026 with the world premiere of the Axopar 38 XC Cross Cabin, to be followed by the Axopar 38 Sun Top and Cross Top launching later this year.

Read More



Simrad Marine Electronics Debuts New NSO® 4

As Simrad Marine Electronics marks its 80th anniversary, the brand celebrates eight decades of innovation with the launch of NSO® 4 – the next chapter in marine navigation. Built on the revolutionary NEON™ operating system (OS) and designed to be the world’s most intuitive chartplotter, NSO 4 is the latest premium chartplotter and fishfinder in the Simrad® portfolio, delivering an unmatched combination of effortless control, lightning-fast performance, and sleek design, setting a new standard for offshore navigation.

Read More