PEU Carlyle Group Likes Mega Yacht Space

The Carlyle Group closed on Lauderdale Marine Center in time for July 4th fireworks.  South Florida Business Journal reported:

The Carlyle Group has acquired the largest yacht repair facility in the nation, the Washington D.C.-based company announced Wednesday.

Lauderdale Marine Center is the largest yacht repair facility in the U.S. in terms of the number of large vessels it can haul and service. It can accommodate boats up to 200 feet with 19 covered sheds and 156 wet slips. It has three marine travel lifts with haul-out capacity up to 330 tons and features 7,000 linear feet of dockage.

Carlyle affiliate BankUnited loaned Lauderdale Marine Center $60 million in 2013.  Carlyle exited BankUnited in March 2014, making billions thanks to Sheila Bair's FDIC

Carlyle's estimated purchase price for LMC is $140 million.  The Real Deal reported:

"Favorable demand trends in the mega-yacht industry and the high barriers to entry for new supply in Southeast Florida attracted us to the investment.”

Spoken like a true PEU.  I can heard Carlyle's David Rubenstein's sales pitch to his fellow billionaires.

 "You're coming to Basel in December.  Bring the (name of the yacht).  We'll take care of everything your baby needs.  Guaranteed." 

This is the crew who earlier this year gave income inequality lip service at Davos.  Trends are favorable for the mega yacht space in our PEU world, where politicians Red and Blue love PEU.

Update 2-29-20:   Lauderdale Marine Center hosted an event where attendees could "see a video of the yard’s history and hear about upgrades including its designation as a U.S. Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), new docks for larger yachts, new boat lifts, and new parking areas."