Wifey, the kiddos, and I just made a brief operational stop in Portofino. While stepping off the tender, I realized: D-Marin is a phenomenal asset.
I’ve spent more time than I care to admit in Mediterranean marinas, and I’ve often thought the same thing while stepping off the tender: this is a phenomenal asset. CVC is now exploring a sale of D-Marin—a 26-location marina platform across Europe and the UAE generating roughly €70 million of EBITDA, with a valuation target near €1 billion. Slips, services, and captive demand from people who don’t ask about pricing—it’s the kind of infrastructure that quietly prints when run properly.
Testing out the Hanky Panky thong
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the unsexy industries that actually move the needle. Defense. Waste management. Funeral homes. And… the criminally under-leveraged panty business.
Case in point: Hanky Panky. These legends spent 48 years perfecting a core competency: selling tiny scraps of fabric at absurdly healthy margins. They weren't just "making clothes"; they were printing capital.
I know the operators at Crown Brands Group who took the reins. They are exceptionally serious fellas. They’ve already optimized Wifey’s top drawer with a full restock. The founders didn't exit because the business was broken; they exited because they realized that to achieve global scale, you need experts whose sole mission is to deliver fresh thongs to every willing buyer on the planet, on time and at margin.
The takeaway? These thongs PRINT. If a business makes people uncomfortable to talk about at a cocktail party, it probably belongs in my LBO model.
PE Guy in the Wild: Interview on the goRIA podcast
I recently sat down with Chuck Failla of Sovereign Financial Group to discuss why he’s choosing "internal succession" over a massive PE check. Chuck claims that "preserving culture" and "next-gen leaders" are more important than liquidity.
Naturally, from my PE Guy perch, I called it exactly what it is: “community theater”. While Chuck wants to run a cozy local play, I’m interested in Broadway-scale EBITDA. It was a sharp discussion. Check it out below:
