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Suntex Marinas Taps Goldman to Explore Strategic Options

Suntex Marinas Taps Goldman to Explore Strategic Options

(Bloomberg) -- Suntex Marinas, an operator of U.S. marinas, is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to explore strategic options including raising capital or a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Dallas-based company is seeking funds to fuel growth but may also consider selling itself, a transaction that could be close to $1 billion, said some of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Representatives for Suntex and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Suntex, which counts Wafra Inc. among its investors, operates more than 40 marinas in states including California, Florida, Texas and Tennessee, according to its website. A portfolio of its Florida marinas with more than 2,300 slips is owned in part by Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust founded by billionaire investor Sam Zell.

Marinas have increasingly attracted institutional investors because of the perceived stability of their income streams. Last year, Koch Real Estate Investments backed Safe Harbor Marinas, another U.S. marina operator whose other investors include American Infrastructure Funds, Guggenheim Partners and Tampa, Florida-based private equity firm Weatherford Partners.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Daniel Taub, Steve Dickson

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