Dream Yacht Charter, Navigare Yachting and SamBoat are set for a potential change of ownership after Romain Motteau and a group of investment partners reached an agreement in principle with PPF Group. The transaction remains subject to final agreements and the authorisations required for a deal of this kind, with completion possible before the end of 2026.
The announcement matters across the yacht-charter market because the three businesses combine managed charter fleets, holiday operations and a large digital rental marketplace. If completed, the new group would operate one of the world’s largest yacht-charter fleets and bring together brands serving owners and charter customers across multiple regions.
Romain Motteau leads the proposed acquisition
Motteau previously spent more than two decades with Fountaine Pajot Group and served as its deputy chief executive. The proposed transaction would mark a return to an entrepreneurial role, this time focused on charter, yacht management and online rental rather than boatbuilding.
PPF Group entered the recreational boating sector in 2021 and subsequently assembled the three businesses under a common investment platform. The new ownership structure would pass control to Motteau and his partners while retaining the individual brands and their established positions in the market.
Three complementary charter businesses
Dream Yacht Charter was founded in the Seychelles in 2000 and has developed into an international charter and sailing-holiday operator. Navigare Yachting, founded in 2001, combines charter operations with yacht-management programmes and owner services across a network of cruising destinations.
SamBoat adds the digital marketplace element to the proposed group. The Bordeaux-founded platform says it lists more than 36,400 boats in 75 countries, creating a complementary distribution channel alongside the managed fleets operated by Dream Yacht Charter and Navigare.
Ownership and charter demand are changing
Motteau said the businesses are positioned to respond to customers who want access to boating without necessarily purchasing a yacht. That shift is particularly relevant to the 12-to-23.99-metre sector, where privately owned yachts, managed charter yachts and flexible-use models increasingly overlap.
For builders, charter managers and owners, the scale of the combined organisation could also matter beyond holiday bookings. Large charter operators are significant buyers of production sailing yachts, catamarans and motor yachts, while their management programmes create recurring demand for service, maintenance, refit and replacement yachts.
Completion could come before year-end
No final completion date has been announced, and the parties describe the transaction as an agreement in principle rather than a completed sale. The next stage is the finalisation of agreements between the stakeholders together with the necessary approvals.
If those conditions are met, completion could take place before the end of 2026. Until then Dream Yacht Charter, Navigare Yachting and SamBoat continue to operate under their existing structures while the proposed new group prepares for the ownership transition.
