Hey Kathy

[jsmcobra201]

I saw in one of your posts you said....

I have spoken with the newest owner of Cobra Boats on the phone and things are gearing up pretty quick. And the word is....we ARE going to be producing boats in 2006.

Care to fill us in a little about the new owner? Any boat building experience? Any experience with Cobra boats like Ed Fry had? Will Cobra be producing the numbers and quality we had back in the "Luna years?"

I know you may not be able to comment as to specifics right now, but I sure am excited to learn more.

[Cleveland]

Jeff,

They have asked that I not tell who "they" are yet but I can tell you this...they have forgotten more about the boat building industry than Ed Fry will ever know.

And of course it is our goal to be producing in high numbers the way it was back in the days of "Milk and Honey". But that isn't going to happen over night. Have to crawl before you can leap.

The new owners are specialists in the field of marketing and advertising and know exactly what to do. I have all the confidence in the world with them.

I'm not worried anymore guys....I feel good. I'll let you know what I can when I can.



Don't I always ???

[BassCatCowboy]

have you herd anything about the cobra logo and decals oor boat striping? ar the boats going to stay the same are they going to change looks? Just wondering

[Cleveland]

I don't have an answer to any of those questions

[Cleveland]

HEEEEEEEY !!!! Not on MY watch !!!!!.......They don't say "Cobra" until I SAY they say "Cobra"

[jsmcobra201]

Any idea if they are going to set up a network of dealers or will they sell direct from the factory?

Reason I ask is because I was on the "Strike Team" and wondered if there is any chance of that comming back into existence. Granted, I didn't sell that many boats, but I sure did meet alot of great people and I did enjoy that experience.

[Backlash Ar]

Jeff, although well meaning, trying to sell factory direct really hurt Venom Boats, Inc. It's like slapping the dealerships in the face as though "who needs you"...and then later when Venom realized that selling factory direct just wasn't working out the way Ed had hoped and he tried to floor plan some boats, the dealers wanted nothing to do with Venom Boats, Inc. (He did manage to get a couple of dealerships but after what Chip did to them I doubt they will want any part of Cobra Boats USA). The new ownership is well aware of the importance of dealer floor planning and are currently working on that very thing right now; along with a lot of other things that are obsolutely necessary if a company is going to compete in the highly competitive bassboat market.

[BassCatCowboy]

hey larry,
Do you have any idea of what is going to happen to those strike team members? I believe that the more folks they have on a strike team in a cobra boat the better the advertising and publicity, is going to go on the local and tournament level. Plus who better to build the comapany name than those fishing and owning a cobra. I sure would like to see this company prosper. I know that I love my cobra even though it is the only bass boat I have every owned. I also hope that they get some magazine adds up and running. Always wanted to see a cobra add agian. Also good luck on your new boat dad says its pretty.

[Backlash Ar]

John...Believe me, the new ownership knows all about marketing & sales and what it's going to take along the advertising lines to get the Cobra name back in the public eye. I'm sure you'll see plenty of advertising. As far as a Cobra "Strike Team," who knows? Right now they have a lot more important things to worry about...just some little small insignificant things...like trying to put the company's reputation back in order.

[Varsity Basser]

I know that this question probably can't be answered right now but I'll just throw it out there anyways... Is the new ownership going to make an attempt to establish a dealer network out west??

[Grant]

Does anyone besides me think its kinda fishy that the new ownership doesnt want the public to know who they are? Its normal for a company to have one or two "silent partners", but this is ridiculous. For "Cobra Boats USA" to have any legitimacy, they need someone to step up and put a face on the company. And it should have happened from day-1.

[Backlash Ar]

Grant, it might just be possible that all the paperwork hasn't been completed (for whatever reason) and Cobra doesn't officially have new owners as of yet, or it could be ?????, who knows. Why would anybody announce themselves as the new owners if they're not? No doubt some people are becoming impatient but we're not the ones putting multi millions of dollars on the line, they are. When the time is right I'm sure they'll make the announcement and that will be when all the "I's" are dotted and all the "T's" are crossed.

[Tx Champ]

I agree with Larry, though I know it's hard for some to understand. There is an awful lot of Due Diligence in a situation such as this. New financiers, creditors, previous lien holders, previous judgment holders, previous financiers are not going to go for a deal until they have a warm fuzzy that the prospective new owner(s) have demonstrated a workable business plan. The new owner(s) are not going to commit until they are guaranteed free title to the assets, transfer of or application for government permits, bringing processes, equipment and facilities into compliance. In other words, they're not going to commit to the money until they also have a warm fuzzy. And we're talking big money here!!

Us ChampioN owners went through the same frustrations after the bankruptcy in 2001. There were times that it looked like there would be no more Champs. It took over six months for the deal with Genmar to come to pass and that was only after they went to the debtors and bought the debt so that the bankruptcy court no longer had a case. You'll notice that there are no 2002 Champs. By the time that production got back underway, any unfinished boats at the time of the shutdown were titled as 2003s.

Hang in there!!

[Tx 201]

Grant,

Right there with you on the frustration, but dealing with buyers and sellers in real estate has given me a little understanding of negotiations. If a buyer is telling everyone they know that they are buying house "X" without having all the details of the contract fully in place and the seller hears that they are so excited about buying their house, the buyer's negotiation position just got killed.

So, in the same way, while I would love to hear who and how stout they are in this business, until the ink is dry and the MONEY has changed hands, you probably won't hear much publicly. Until the deal is done the buyer and seller always have agendas with their best interests in mind and don't want their hand exposed in any way.

Thanks Reggie for the insight about Champion. Makes it a little easier to see that we aren't the only ones that have gone through a long process. By the way, I have to unload about 70 lbs of plastics before I let you drive my boat. I have the front end so heavy that 61 GPS is all she is getting right now. I don't think I have taken one thing out of my boat the last three years, but I sure have kept putting in more weight, one Academy or Bass Pro bag at a time.


Modified by Tx 201 at 2:45 PM 6/1/2006

[Tx Champ]

Yeah, I know what you mean, Chris! I'm getting a collection of white, green and gold plastic sacks in mine as well!! Saw you and your bride walking down the street last night. Becky & I need to get out there too!!

[l84supr]

I believe patience is the order of the day. Anyone who deals with the justice system knows it doesn't go fast. Add the debt problems that are inherited and you have the makings of one big headache. Several months ago there was a thread on another website about 3 executives leaving a major company. These three are experts in the boat making field, and have vast marketing and banking knowledge...Could they be the ones rescuing Cobra Boats????....Kathy has had the patience of JOB and I think we all could look at her as a role model and just wait it out......Bernie

[Backlash Ar]

Bernie...those folks you speak of are not the ones purchasing the company. There has been speculation that they may be hired by the company but I haven't heard anything about that and can't verify that one way or the other. It does present an interesting scenerio though...the positions that they held with the other major company would fit in quite nicely with Cobra. Things are very, very, very, very close to happening so just keep the faith a little longer.

[Varsity Basser]

Now when you say very, very, very, very, close, how close is that?? Can you convert all those verys into some sort of time frame like days, weeks??

[Grant]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Varsity Basser &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now when you say very, very, very, very, close, how close is that?? Can you convert all those verys into some sort of time frame like days, weeks??</TD></TR></TABLE>

If my math is correct, "very+very+very+very close = really close"