Aqua-Leisure Recreation, LLC, (“Aqua-Leisure”) announced the acquisition of Longwood, Fla.-based INYO Pool Products, LLC, (“INYO” or “INYO Pool”). INYO Pool is a direct-to-consumer brand of swimming pool supply, repair and maintenance products, offering “How To” content and consumer engagement with over 21 million views annually on YouTube over the past decade and serving more than 100,000 pool owners annually.
The acquisition of INYO Pool enhances Aqua-Leisure’s aquatic recreational brands, which include Airhead, Aqua, Dolfino, Sportsstuff, SwimSchool and Yukon Charlie’s to offer consumers an extensive line of pool maintenance and repair products, including INYO’s Pureline family of products, expanding the platform growth strategy by increasing omni-channel distribution and sales and new cross-selling opportunities.
“We welcome the INYO team to Aqua-Leisure and believe we will have significant synergies with the INYO family of brands,” says Steve Berenson, CEO, Aqua-Leisure.
The INYO acquisition is the second add-on acquisition for Aqua-Leisure since Blackford Capital acquired the company in January 2021 and comes just four months after Aqua-Leisure acquired Airhead Sports Group. Under Blackford’s ownership, Aqua-Leisure continues to execute a long-term growth strategy focused on delivering strong revenue and EBITDA in both e-commerce and traditional retail channels.
“The anticipated synergies from the recent acquisition of Airhead have quickly come to fruition for the combined Aqua-Airhead team, with enhanced scale, brand value and e-commerce offerings,” says Martin Stein, founder and managing director at Blackford Capital. “Now, with the addition of INYO Pool Products, Aqua-Leisure gains an expanded product portfolio, enhanced channel expansion capability, platform cross-selling opportunities and increased sourcing efficiencies.”
Effective with this acquisition, John Paroline will become president and general manager for INYO Pool reporting to Leland Nichols, Aqua-Leisure’s chief operating officer. INYO Co-Founder Patrick Paroline will continue with the company as the director of strategy and new products focused on the continued expansion of the Pureline brand across additional product segments. All day-to-day operations at INYO Pool’s Longwood facility and the company’s commitment to its customers will remain unchanged.
“It has been a wonderful adventure to work alongside my brother Patrick and best friend for the past 15 years, building INYO into the preferred brand for do-it-yourself swimming pool repair and maintenance,” says Paroline. “As part of the Aqua-Leisure portfolio of brands, I know we will continue to grow, reaching new customers through new channels while capitalizing on sourcing and distribution synergies that will allow us to continue providing our users with the knowledge, products and empowerment they need to get the most out of their swimming pools.”
Orchard MB served as exclusive financial advisor and Burr & Forman served as legal advisor to INYO. Varnum LLP served as legal advisor and Grant Thornton served as the financial and tax advisor to Blackford. Key Bank provided debt financing and Muzinich & Co. and Capital Dynamics provided debt and equity financing in support of the transaction.
