On 22 September, PPF Group agreed to sell Dream Yacht Charter, Navigare Yachting and the booking platform SamBoat to a consortium led by Romain Motteau, former deputy chief executive of Fountaine Pajot Group. Closing is expected before the end of 2026.
What is being sold
Three businesses with long histories in charter. Dream Yacht Charter was founded in the Seychelles in 2000 by Loïc Bonnet. Navigare Yachting followed in 2001, founded by Jesper Rönngard and Per Abrahamsson. SamBoat was launched in Bordeaux in 2014 by Laurent Calando and Nicolas Cargou, and today lists more than 36,400 boats in 75 countries.
Dream Yacht and Navigare together operate a fleet of more than 750 yachts, from bareboat to crewed charter and cabin sales. PPF, the investment group, entered the sector in 2021, in partnership with Groupe Beneteau at the time. It is now selling all three businesses together. Marine Business describes the result as one of the world’s largest yacht charter fleets.
Who is buying
Romain Motteau is a boatbuilder by background. He joined Dream Yacht and Navigare as chief development officer this summer, alongside a chief sales officer and a chief technical officer who also came from the shipyards. He now leads the consortium buying the group. The price and the names of his investment partners have not been disclosed, and the deal still depends on final agreements between the parties and regulatory approval.
“Together with the group’s teams, our responsibility today is to build on that legacy, establish the new group as a leading player in nautical tourism and support its long-term development,” Motteau said. He also pointed to a shift in demand: more people want to sail without owning a boat, and with more flexibility.
What it means for owners
Many of the yachts in these fleets belong to private owners, placed in a management or charter programme. A change of shareholder does not by itself rewrite your contract. But the people who set fleet policy, maintenance standards and resale strategy are changing. If your yacht is in one of these programmes, this is a good moment to reread three things in your agreement: what happens on a change of control, how your charter income is calculated and paid, and what is promised at the end of the programme.
The bigger picture: boatbuilders, charter companies and booking platforms are joining up. More and more, one company wants to handle the whole life of your yacht — helping you choose it, finance it, run it in charter and sell it at the end.
For an owner, that has an upside and a catch. The upside is one company for everything, so less falls between the cracks. The catch is that a company which also sells boats may want to sell you the next one sooner than you need. So before you sign, ask a simple question: who is this company working for — you, or its own sales?
That is the question we built our own programmes around: one accountable partner, working for the owner. If you would like a second opinion on a management agreement, or want to compare it with Horizon or Latitude, we are glad to look at it with you.
Booked a charter with one of these operators? Our Private Travel journal covers what the sale means for guests.
Sources: Marine Business, 22 September 2026 · Marine Industry News · Boat Industry, 9 September 2026.
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