Trinity Yachts LLC and TY Offshore LLC announce the formation of the Gulf Coast Shipyard Group

Trinity Yachts and TY Offshore have recently announced the formation of the Gulf Coast Shipyard Group along with its new investment partner, Littlejohn & Co., a private equity firm based in Greenwich, CT.

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group will own and operate two major Gulf Coast based shipyards engaged in the new construction of commercial, military and luxury yachts. The company will also operate International Yacht Collection (IYC), a wholly owned yacht brokerage unit.

Littlejohn has a well-established track record of investing in and working with management teams to build significant competitive enterprises in their target industries. Felix S. Sabates Jr. will step down as Chairman to become an advisor and consultant to the new organisation.

John Dane III, president and CEO of Trinity Yachts and TY Offshore stated “Littlejohn has an impeccable reputation along with the ability to bring equity, strategy and experience in order to successfully grow and diversify our operations. In addition, I am also happy to announce that we will be starting a long-planned $9 million capital improvement program to the Gulfport, Mississippi yard which will increase our efficiency and annual output. These improvements will also upgrade our Syncrolift to 4,300 tons in anticipation of ice class vessels for Arctic operations. All told, we expect these events will further establish our operations as a premier builder and major employer.”

Edmund J. Feeley, managing director of Littlejohn, said, “We look forward to our partnership with the Gulf Coast management team to continue the company’s strong growth trajectory into new markets. The company has a strong backlog of orders, and oil and gas drilling and production activity is expected to remain strong with demand for vessels serving this industry expected to continue, as well as vessels targeted for other commercial and military markets.”

For more information on the companies, visit www.tyoffshore.com, www.trinityyachts.com or www.littlejohnllc.com.