Tompkins Wake assists Vesper Marine on sale to Garmin

Vesper Marine is another fantastic Kiwi technology success story," the firm says

Tompkins Wake assists Vesper Marine on sale to Garmin

Tompkins Wake has advised Auckland-based marine communication equipment and services provider Vesper Marine on its sale to multinational technology group Garmin International.

According to Vesper co-founder Carl Omundsen, the acquisition will allow Vesper to strengthen its capabilities and integration into the marine communication market towards producing greater impact in the boating industry. As part of the deal, Vesper will join Garmin’s existing team and facility located in Auckland.

Founded in 2017, Vesper has developed a suite of communication products and solutions for power, sail and workboats, including the award-winning Cortex system. Cortex is a wireless touchscreen handset that combines a state-of-the-art very high frequency radio with the latest automatic identification system transponder and a remote vessel monitoring system.

Commercial partner Kerri Dewe and special counsel Mark Lowndes led the Tompkins Wake team on the transaction. Lowndes said that the firm was pleased to have supported a “fantastic Kiwi technology success story.”

Investors in Vesper Marine include GD1, FKA and Icehouse.