Garmin Acquires Navionics

[silverking]

Garmin® acquires Navionics®
Premier supplier of electronic navigational charts for mariners Schaffhausen, Switzerland/Oct. 27, 2017/Business Wire —Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today
announced that it has acquired Navionics S.p.A., a privately-held worldwide provider of electronic navigational charts and mobile applications for the marine industry.

“Navionics has long been known as a leading supplier of highly accurate navigational charts and mobile applications for boaters,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin president and CEO. “By combining Navionics’ content with Garmin’s BlueChart® and LakeVüTM content, we will be able to offer the best available breadth and depth of coverage to our marine customers. Going forward, we plan to retain the Navionics brand and will continue to support Navionics’ existing customers.”

“Since our founding, Navionics has been passionate about creating products that enhance the boating experience,” said Giuseppe Carnevali, Navionics founder and president. “Garmin shares our passion for serving the marine industry, and is an ideal company to carry the strong brand and reputation of Navionics into the future.”

In addition to a popular boating app, Navionics has developed an extensive repository of nautical charts for oceans, rivers, and lakes. Many of these charts have been developed with Navionics’ proprietary surveys, done both in the field and with remote sensing such as satellite imagery and airborne laser scanners.

Navionics is headquartered in Viareggio, Italy, and employs more than 350 associates globally, who will be retained. Financial terms of the acquisition will not be released.

About Garmin: Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin and BlueChart are registered trademarks and LakeVü is a trademark of Garmin Ltd.

[KLONG]

Interesting...
Thanks for the post Capt.

[guthooked]

So, this more than likely means a very large price increase on Navionics charts. Love their product and have never been a huge fan of Garmin. I'm sure this a Ford vs Chevy type of thing though.

[silverking]

Garmin is so big (not just in marine) that this could mean a reduction in the price of Navionics cards. But don't hold your breath.

Long-term, I'm sure Garmin will integrate the Navionics software into their units to eventually replace the BlueChart stuff they have now. The BlueChart cartography works pretty well for my needs, but Garmin is losing some market share to other brands that offer detailed satellite overlays. It's also a way for the company to cut into the profits of others who have been using Navionics.

I'm not attending the Ft. Lauderdale boat show but if I learn more, I'll update this post.

[Geno67]

Off-topic but does anyone use the charts that come with the humminbird units or do you all buy a chart set? I have an 899 hd di si and will need decent charts at some point. The ones for the rivers in central Alabama are okay I guess but I've never zoomed in on it to see if they even have bottom contours as I've never needed them.

If you buy a chart card, who would you recommend?

[bbb]

I had a Helix 9 and bought the SE lake card for use on Seminole. It was very detailed. The base map that came with the unit was pretty bland.

[Steve Stinson]

In a related question - It seems like the Navionics maps have a zone division due South of Tallahassee, requiring you to buy two maps to cover the area from Steinhatchee to St. Joe Bay. Am I wrong about this?

Thanks - Steve Stinson

[bbb]

You just need to buy the Gulf of Mexico map.

[Steve Stinson]

Thank you BBB. Is Navionics currently compatible with Garmin units or is that still to come in the future?

[bbb]

Looks like they will have to release a software update for the newer units to be compatible.