January 9, 2020 (MIAMI, Fla.) – Boats Group, the tech business behind the largest online marketplaces for boats and yachts in the world (Boat Trader, YachtWorld, boats.com, Cosas de Barcos and iNautia), today announced they have purchased Annonces du Bateau and all its assets from CarBoat Media. Annonces du Bateau is a leading boat sales marketplace in France and provides Boats Group with greater access to one of the largest boating marketplaces in the world.
“France is an enormously important market in the global leisure marine industry, and the acquisition of Annonces du Bateau – a business with a long tradition of delivering digital excellence in France – will accelerate our growth in Europe,” said Sam Fulton, CEO, Boats Group. “We look forward to welcoming the customers of Annonces du Bateau and providing them with leading customer service, as well as an expanded range of products that are proven to help the industry sell more boats.”
Boats Group now begins a substantial technical and marketing investment in Annonces du Bateau, starting with a new, feature-rich platform that will debut later this year. Already, Annonces du Bateau connects a large audience of boat buyers with brokers, dealers and manufacturers throughout France, and the coming technology developments will modernize and enhance the user experience.
For the boating industry professionals who currently market their business offerings on Annonces du Bateau, this acquisition provides new access to the international marketplace. The Boats Group-owned-and-operated YachtWorld, Cosas de Barcos and iNautia portals drive boat sales throughout Europe, and Annonces du Bateau customers in France now have the option to add their inventory to any of the Boats Group marketplaces that best suit their needs.
“We are very pleased to announce this agreement with Boats Group,” said François Couffy, CEO, CarBoat Media. “We are confident that our customers will experience best-in-class service and benefit from the technology investments and expanded market opportunities that Boats Group offers.”