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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here from North American Waterway bringing you Bayliner Boats along with news and views from the boating industry. Yacht and motorboat manufacturer Brunswick has offered to buy Redmond-based Olympic Boat Centers out of bankruptcy for $48 million, but…

Olympic Boat and its affiliates run 20 dealerships from British Columbia to California, making it “one of the largest, if not the largest, dealership in the world” for Brunswick, according to court papers filed in Woodland Hills, Calif., where Olympic filed for Chapter 11 protection last month.

On Wednesday, a bankruptcy-court judge is expected to schedule a Sept. 23 auction of Olympic’s assets and spell out procedures for other bidders to compete with the Brunswick proposal, said David Shemano, a Los Angeles attorney representing Olympic’s unsecured creditors.

Brunswick, whose brands include Bayliner, Maxum, Meridian and Mercury Marine, already owns 12 percent of Olympic Boat’s parent company.

The remainder is mostly owned by private-equity firm The Riverside Co., of Cleveland, which bought majority control of Olympic in 1998 and launched an expansion push.

The $48 million offer, detailed in a motion filed by Olympic’s attorneys last week, would provide $47 million to secured creditor GE Commercial Distribution Finance. But it would leave less than $1 million for bankruptcy costs and payments to other creditors, Shemano wrote in a court filing.

He called Brunswick’s offer “less than adequate.”

Olympic reported assets between $10 million and $50 million and debts between $50 million and $100 million. We will keep you posted on how this all plays out.
Thanks to;Business & Technology | Brunswick bids $48 million to buy Olympic Boat Centers | Seattle Times Newspaper

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Rick Ostler, North American Waterway

Tags: brunswickcorp, bayliner boats, Olympic Boat Centers, Maxum, Meridian, Mercury Marine,

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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here bringing you Bayliner Boats along with news and views from the boating industry. Mercury University, which provides comprehensive technical and non-technical training to more than 5,000 dealers and partners, will soon offer online training, the company reported in a release.

Mercury Marine University

Beginning in late summer 2008, Mercury Marine dealers and partners in the United States and Canada can complete training courses and register for classroom courses online. The new online learning system will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mercury says the online training will not only make learning more accessible, but also make testing more convenient. When students complete an online course, they will have the option to take an online test. The results of the test are immediately available to the user and are recorded in the individual’s learning history, which is viewable by that person and his or her supervisor.

“Our dealers are critical to our success,” said Brad Weber, director of Field Service Development and Operations. “When they voiced a need for an online learning system, we listened and made the required investment. The ability to complete online courses and tests will be of great benefit to the dealer.

Mercury Marine Dealers to be more informed

No longer are they limited to the business hours of Mercury University. Management at the dealerships can be much more informed and reactive to the learning needs of their employees.”
Mercury said it has selected Plateau Systems, a provider of talent management software, content and services, to deliver and host its learning-management system after an extensive search.

Mercury University will utilize Plateau’s iContent solution to manage, deliver and track all its training content across its partners and dealer ecosystem. Through this content-as-a-service offering, dealers and partners will have access to Mercury University’s training content anytime, anywhere in a secure, hosted environment.

“We understand that dealers and partners are critical to a company’s business,” said Paul
Sparta, chairman and CEO of Plateau, “and by giving Mercury University the tools and technology to train and test their business partners, regardless of location, time or online status, they can be confident their company’s reputation and products continue to be the best in the industry.”

Be sure to check out Mercury Marine Video Update Here……

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