Texas based TopSide Marinas has acquired two further marinas – Bay Marine of Sturgeon Bay and Bay Marine of Chicago.
Previous owners, Matt and Mark Felhofer, will continue to own and operate Bay Marine Yacht Sales, which will leaseback showroom and office space at both locations.
With these latest acquisitions, TopSide Marinas now owns and operates ten marinas across six states.
Bay Marine of Sturgeon Bay was established in 1965 as a family-owned and operated marina, spanning 16 acres with 100 wet slips, 115,000sqft of inside storage, a service shop and captain’s lounge.
The marina’s wet slips at the former Sturgeon Bay Yacht Harbor were renovated in 2022.
“With the acquisition of Bay Marine service, storage, and marina operations, TopSide Marinas will now be running two of the finest marinas and boatyards in the Great Lakes,” said Ryan Skiles, regional vice president of operations at Topside Marinas. “Bay Marine’s Waukegan facility is an outstanding service and storage facility with deep water access to the downtown Chicago harbours.”
Consolidation
He added: “The acquisition of Bay Marine reinforces TopSide’s mission of fostering a high-quality environment where our members and guests can create lifelong memories while maintaining an enjoyable waterfront experience for the avid boating communities in Wisconsin and Illinois.”
Matt Felhofer, president of Bay Marine Yacht Sales, added: “The marine industry has seen dramatic consolidation over the past several years and TopSide Marinas presented a unique opportunity for us to bring in a partner that has the knowledge, expertise, and capital to take our existing service, storage, and marina businesses to the next level while allowing our sales team to focus on growing our key brands throughout the Great Lakes market.”
Bay Marine started in 1965 as a boat dealership offering service, storage, and sales of cruisers and smaller runabout boats.
Over the years, Bay Marine has grown to one of the largest regional dealerships with locations throughout Midwest and Southwest Florida representing brands including Riviera Yachts, Sabre, Back Cove, Formula, Edgewater, and Crevalle boats.
“Matt and Mark Felhofer have built an impressive business at these two outstanding locations,” said Jacob Boan, cofounder and chief investment officer of TopSide Marinas.
“We regard them highly and are excited to partner with them as they grow Bay Marine Yacht Sales to one of the largest yacht brokerage firms in the region.”
