Soon a new pool company will go public, the name of which is well known to all of us. Latham – The Pool Company™ filed a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing its intention to sell its common stock in an initial public offering.
Latham Group has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol SWIM. Full details about the offer and its terms are not known at this time.
News of Latham’s intention to go public comes a month after Hayward, one of the “Big 3” manufacturers, made a similar announcement.
Latham, The Pool Company™ as it is now known was formerly known as Latham Pool Products.
Latham’s private equity partners, Pamplona Capital Management and Wynnchurch Capital, will own more than 50% of the voting rights of the company’s outstanding common stock, making the Latham group a controlled company exempt from certain corporate governance provisions is.
Latham outlined a strategy to increase fiber optics’ overall market share in inground pools, transform customer access to the company’s products, improve distribution opportunities in the United States, and expand internationally while discussing the company’s strengths and advantages .
Latham Pool Products – The Pool Company™ has made serious strides with consumers through direct marketing to consumers as well as through the acquisition of a 28% interest in Premier Pools & Spas.
Latham moves into lead generation
With a new focus on direct digital and social media marketing, supported by a demand aggregation platform, Latham has made serious strides in direct-to-consumer marketing. This has consequently enabled them to pass more pool leads to their dealer base. According to Latham, the company has delivered over 45,000 leads to its dealer base in 2020, the first year the plan has been fully implemented. According to the group, this represents an increase of 210% compared to 2019.
The company also cited its size, claiming that its network of nine factories and fiber pool distribution centers allows it to ship fiber pools to 95 percent of the US population in just 48 hours.
Latham has increased its market share in the fiberglass pool industry over time by acquiring a number of existing manufacturers. Three recent transactions were mentioned in their IPO application. Latham believes this will help him position himself well going forward.
Recent Latham acquisitions
The 2019 acquisition of Narellan, an Australian manufacturer of fiberglass pools with operations in Canada and New Zealand, strengthened the company’s overseas presence. According to Latham, foreign markets account for 19% of its sales, with Canada, Australia and New Zealand being the most prominent. According to Latham, the company is still looking into emerging markets.
At the very least, the Narellan acquisition is expected to help Latham expand its presence in North America by increasing fiber penetration. Narellan, as Australia’s largest manufacturer of fiberglass pools, has played a key role in the increasing acceptance of fiberglass over the past two decades in Australia, where the segment now accounts for 70% of the pool industry, according to Latham.
“We are leveraging the insights Narellan has gained and investing in building the tools needed to drive higher fiber penetration in the North American market,” said Latham.
It was also mentioned that the October 2020 acquisition of vinyl liner and safety cover manufacturer GLI has expanded its offerings in these categories.
In October, the company entered into a long-term strategic relationship with Premier Pools & Spas, acquiring a 28% equity interest in the pool construction franchise. The company said, “The purpose of this investment in Premier Pools & Spas is to help expand our sales and distribution channels.”
In the future, it intends to enter into more strategic alliances with dealers. “We believe these exclusive relationships will continue to allow us to increase market share at the expense of the fragmented and regional universe of competitors,” said Latham.
In North America, Australia and New Zealand, Latham claims to be the largest builder, manufacturer and marketer of in-ground residential pools. The company claims to have 32 locations, hire over 2,000 employees and sell more than 8,700 fiber optic pools across the United States in 2020.
Although “net income does not follow this trend”. Latham said 2020 marked the 11th consecutive year of net revenue growth and Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion. According to the group, net revenue was $403.4 million and net income was $16.0 million in 2020.
Last year, 20% of Latham’s sales came from vinyl liners, 21% from covers and the remaining 80% from fiberglass reinforced vinyl-lined pools. The remaining 59% comes from fiber optic units, according to the company.
Featured Photo Credit: Albany Business Review
