A group of private investors led by Brooke S. Parish and John B. Reuter has taken ownership of Sparkman & Stephens, the renowned naval architecture and brokerage firm founded by Olin Stephens and Drake Sparkman in 1929.
The acquisition is intended to help Sparkman & Stephens expand. Further financial details about the deal were not announced.
“We feel a tremendous sense of pride and responsibility to assume stewardship of a brand and a company whose legacy in American yachting cannot be overstated,” Parish, the new chairman of Sparkman & Stephens, stated in a press release. “We intend to put significant effort and capital into building both the design and brokerage businesses.”
Parish is an asset management professional in New York who owns Mermaid, a 1957 Sparkman & Stephens ketch originally built for Austin Goodyear. Reuter, who is now the CEO of Sparkman & Stephens, is an entrepreneur and private equity investor who has been involved with yachts for nearly 20 years.
A steady hand at the drafting table: Chief Designer Brendan Abbott will continue to lead the Sparkman & Stephens design studio in Newport, Rhode Island.
