Barletta Boats manufactures premium pontoon boats in Elkhart County. Barletta Boats image
ELKHART — Winnebago Industries continues to expand its presence in Elkhart County area with the planned acquisition of Barletta Boats in the next couple of months.
The proposed deal, which was announced Tuesday morning, would give Winnebago Industries an expanding presence in the marine industry. Known primarily as an RV manufacturer, Winnebago purchased Florida-based Chris-Craft in 2018.
The deal with Barletta is valued at $270 million based on Barletta hitting certain performance milestones by the end of the year, and it could provide an additional $50 million in incentives based on the pontoon manufacturer hitting growth objectives in 2022 and 2023.
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Tuesday's announcements marks the second time Bill Fenech, founder and president of Barletta, has been involved in the sale of a business to Winnebago. After starting Grand Design in Middlebury with his brother Ron and their friend Don Clark in 2012, the trio sold that towable RV business to Winnebago in 2016.
Clark continues to lead Grand Design for Winnebago, but Bill Fenech eventually decided to leave the business to pursue his passion for watersports. In 2017, he founded Barletta in Bristol and today the company has grown to around 300 employees and expects to reach $214 million in revenue this year.
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