Info Aqualung Financial Troubles

[oceanmatrix]

Canadian source:

Service kits and Parts

Aqua Sport has tons and tons of service kits and parts for BCD's and regulators. Are you looking to service your own or to get your favorite service tech to service them ? Maybe a part is broken and it needs replacing? Aqua Sport has WAY more parts than listed in this collection so if you need...

aquasportscuba.com

Because there are a lot of Apeks regs out there and basically only two second stage kits (Flight and everything else), the aftermarket will supply the kits no matter what happens to the parent company. What you would lose is the warranty, eventually parts other than the kits, and you might have to search a little harder to find a shop to service them.

For example, this is a current aftermarket supplier:

For Apeks gear - Scuba Gaskets

For Apeks gear - For Apeks gear

scubagaskets.com

ya i was looking at scubagaskets.com look like they are really the only one that semi full kit out there that i can stash away for a rainning day Thanks lowwall

 

[runsongas]

@oceanmatrix Silent Explorers Maple Grove Minnesot United States Online SCUBA

 

[oceanmatrix]

@oceanmatrix Silent Explorers Maple Grove Minnesot United States Online SCUB

your da man thank you! @runsongas much appreciate!

 

[cerich]

HEAD looks set to buy Aqualung

Negotiations are understood to be nearing completion for HEAD Group to purchase the Aqualung Group from asset-management company Barings.

divernet.com

Anyone recall when HEAD bought Dacor? I do.. I was once a Mares and Dacor Sales Rep.

Anyhow...

 

[BoltSnap]

HEAD looks set to buy Aqualung

Negotiations are understood to be nearing completion for HEAD Group to purchase the Aqualung Group from asset-management company Barings.

divernet.com

Anyone recall when HEAD bought Dacor? I do.. I was once a Mares and Dacor Sales Rep.

Anyhow...

I do, I was a big DACOR and Mares dealer then lol

 

[scubadada]

Ha, HEAD can launch Aquasense

 

[Badger7]

Ha, HEAD can launch Aquasense

I'm sure HEAD wouldnt want to let

go to waste

 

[BeerNye]

I know it's still up in the air, but I wonder what will happen to Apeks/Mares if this deal goes through? Seems like those two would compete, ahem, HEAD to HEAD for the same customers.

I'll show myself out...

 

[lowwall]

Let's hope someone at Mares remembers what went wrong with the Dacor acquisition so they can avoid making the same mistakes.

It should be possible. Dacor didn't make their own stuff at the end and their suppliers had already ceased production and retooled for other things when Head bought it immediately prior to liquidation proceedings.

Mares thought they could stick the Dacor name on their own low to mid level gear and sell tons of it through Dacor's existing dealers along with getting an easy way in to these shops for the Mares line. What they got instead was a bunch of shops that had been screwed over by Dacor at the end and were not in a mood to trust the new guys and a bunch of Dacor loyalist divers who held Mares responsible when the remaining stock of parts ran out.

Aqualung, on the other hand, is presumably still a going concern. Their problem is they were overloaded with debt thanks to the normal PE shenanigans that started when they were sold by Air Liquide. Most of that debt ended up in the hand of Barings which then became the owner in a de facto foreclosure acquisition.

The important part is that Head makes its money by selling sporting goods rather than financial manipulation. I think it's safe to assume that Head is only willing to pay a realistic amount, including whatever debt they will take over, for the company based on its proven sales rather than rosy projections of future growth. This, along with stripping away the high cost visionaries currently overpopulating the executive suites at AL, should give them enough space to rationalize the product line and run what's left at a profit.

Assuming any international company will be making a profit while this trade war idiocy is going on.

 

[Outbound]

Assuming any international company will be making a profit while this trade war idiocy is going on.

This was my immediate thought as well. Diving is already an expensive activity for beginners to get into, and covid-related inflation made it that much worse. Now we're likely to see gear prices go through the roof, with sales volume likely to drop as a result.