How this Rafting Company Acquired a Local Competitor and Improved Margins by 20% with Breakwater M&A
Client Overview
Canadian Outback Rafting, a leading whitewater rafting operator serving the Vancouver to Whistler corridor since 1994, approached Breakwater to explore strategic growth opportunities. Having successfully grown organically for decades, the company sought to accelerate expansion by acquiring a local competitor. Despite strong market positioning and consistent marketing efforts, Canadian Outback Rafting recognized limitations in organic growth and aimed to leverage acquisition as a means to quickly increase market share and profitability.
Breakwater's Approach
Initial Assessment
Breakwater conducted an in-depth analysis of the targeted competitor, identifying significant strategic value in their established customer base, complementary service offerings, and existing market presence. The assessment confirmed strong alignment between both companies' products, pricing structures, and customer experiences, highlighting clear opportunities for immediate integration and operational synergies.
Strategy Development
We structured an asset purchase focused on acquiring Squamish Rafting’s equipment, permits, and customer lists. The strategy emphasized immediate operational integration to capture the upcoming summer season and cross-selling opportunities of each company.
Execution Process
Breakwater efficiently managed the acquisition process, handling negotiations objectively and professionally to mitigate emotional dynamics common within the industry. Due diligence was streamlined and thorough, ensuring transparency regarding financials, asset valuation, and customer retention potential. Breakwater’s intermediary role allowed Canadian Outback Rafting’s leadership to remain focused on daily operations throughout the acquisition process.
Value Creation
Immediate 20% yield improvement by increasing capacity of existing equipment.
Acquired entire customer list and existing web traffic which was re-directed to the consolidated site.
Acquisition costs recouped quickly due to effective operational consolidation.
Results and Impact
Investment amount was fully recouped shortly after closing the acquisition due to immediate operational efficiencies
Significant ongoing revenue growth realized from expanded customer base integration
Enhanced profit margins through elimination of redundant costs and optimized resource allocation
"Breakwater's expertise was invaluable throughout our acquisition. Their third-party perspective helped us navigate emotional dynamics smoothly, keeping negotiations professional and productive. The acquisition quickly exceeded expectations—delivering immediate returns and positioning us strongly for future growth."
- Murray Seward, Partner at Canadian Outback Rafting
Key Takeaways
Expert intermediary role minimized emotional friction during negotiations
Strategic timing enabled immediate integration benefits prior to peak season
Clear alignment between companies ensured smooth transition for customers and staff
Acquisition strategy effectively accelerated growth beyond organic limits
Full Interview
Interview Transcript
Morgan Tate (00:01)
All right, thanks, Murray, for joining us today. So I just wanted to start with maybe a bit of a background on yourself and what actually, maybe some of the companies that you operate and what led you to pursue the acquisition strategy for the business that we've worked with you on.
Murray Seward (00:18)
Yeah, yeah. So I'm a partner in a number of businesses that are all related in one way or another. They're all really part of the events industry. So I've got a corporate team-building company that runs corporate team-building events all over North America under the Outback Team Building and Training brand. My partner and I own the Vancouver Christmas Market and the Seattle Christmas Market, which are German-themed Christmas festivals that happen every year in Vancouver and Seattle.
And we also are partners in Canadian Outback Rafting, which is a whitewater rafting company based in Squamish that services all of the Vancouver to Whistler corridor in terms of whitewater rafting.
Morgan Tate (01:00)
Fantastic. And so with the rafting company, you were kind of looking at ways to grow. How did that project come about with pursuing growth by acquisition versus organic growth? Because you had grown organically up until that date.
Murray Seward (01:13)
Yeah, exactly. We spend a lot of energy focusing on our marketing and our service levels through that company. And since we formed that company back in 1994, it's grown substantially, especially in the last 10 years. But we sort of reached the point where we couldn't really do too many other things other than relying on just typical tourism trends and things like that. So it came to the point where we decided we wanted to see if one of our competitors in the region was interested in merging or letting go of their company to us. And that's where we brought in Morgan to help with that acquisition.
Morgan Tate (01:52)
And why did you—as some people often say—why bring in an M&A advisor? Like, you knew the company. What was the value of having someone in the middle? Obviously, there was a fee involved versus just doing it on your own and maybe saving that cost. Where was that value for you?
Murray Seward (02:08)
Yeah, I think a big place in that particular industry—and in the events industry in general—is it's a very emotional industry and a very, I'm going to call it ego-driven industry, not in a bad way. It's just that people are very passionate about their businesses. And we felt it would be way more important to have a third party be our intermediary to help with the transition rather than getting into the nitty-gritty and the weeds with our competitor and having those sort of ego issues come to the surface. We thought there was big value in having that third party.
Morgan Tate (02:45)
Awesome. And how would you say the transaction process went? Was this your first acquisition? Had you done one prior? What was the experience like going through it and now being on the other side of that transaction?
Murray Seward (03:00)
Yeah, it was our first experience with it. I’d done lots of reading on the topic—both on the buying and selling sides—and gone to conferences that talked about those topics as well. But this was the first time really getting involved with it personally. The experience was phenomenal, actually. It was very, very smooth. Everything went as planned. Roadblocks were approached in a non-emotional way, and it made the process really, really palatable, I think for both parties.
Morgan Tate (03:29)
Fantastic. Then maybe without sharing too much detail, how has that acquisition performed since? Has it been positive for your business? What does that look like?
Murray Seward (03:42)
Yeah, it's been incredibly positive, and it made so much sense. We already have all the infrastructure in place. So really, the key for that purchase was funneling in those customers who used to go with our competitor into our product. We ran very similar products—it wasn't a shock to them. Pricing was very similar; the experience was similar. So it made an awful lot of sense to vend those gross margins—those gross margin dollars—into our company.
It worked very, very well for us, and I think it was good for the seller as well.
Morgan Tate (04:16)
Awesome. And you've obviously seen some growth as a result of that acquisition.
Murray Seward (04:22)
Yeah, it was immediate. That was one of the coolest things about it—we knew what we paid for the business, for the acquisition—and to see it pay off as quickly as it did was a real... not even a surprise; we thought that was going to happen. But of course, there's always concerns—but it actually did happen! And now that acquisition's fully paid off and we're still reaping the benefits of it.
So it made an awful lot of sense—and as I said—it made an awful lot of sense for the seller as well. He wanted to get out of the business—and it's not the easiest thing in the world to sell—and to sell it to somebody who already knew what they were doing made an awful lot of sense for him as well. So it's worked out well for everybody.
Morgan Tate (05:05)
Fantastic! So overall you would say that our fees were worthwhile relative to their return?
Murray Seward (05:11)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely! That was the beauty of the process—we're fortunate that we run pretty clean businesses in terms of our accounting and things being normalized and such—so it was nice and simple for us to get you the information you requested and then for you to act on our behalf while allowing us to continue doing what we do best.
And I'm a big fan of that—it’s “who,” not “how.” So rather than us trying to figure out how to buy or sell a business ourselves or act on our own behalf—I’m a big fan of finding people who are already experts at this kind of thing and then allowing them to go to work. So I think it was worth every dollar.
Morgan Tate (05:49)
Awesome! And then if you were to recommend Breakwater to another potential buyer, how would you describe the value we brought to this process? It’d be super helpful for us if you could share.
Murray Seward (06:00)
Yeah, I mean—I’d certainly start with “who,” not “how.” Time is money; it's very valuable! As a business owner, you're already super busy doing what you do within your business—so trying to bolt on an acquisition or sale doesn’t make much sense—that’s first and foremost.
Secondly is just how helpful you were—being on our side—putting us at ease with this process by giving us information we needed to know straight-up without emotional responses or bias so we could set realistic expectations—that was super valuable!
And then obviously negotiating on our behalf where you could approach things from a business perspective rather than emotional attachment—that’s huge! Lastly—it’s just your experience—you’ve been there before; we hadn’t—but your knowledge helped us avoid pitfalls while keeping us informed throughout everything! Your communication stayed consistent throughout too—something many people don’t maintain after initial enthusiasm fades—but with Breakwater—it never dropped off!
Morgan Tate (07:25)
Fantastic! Final question—are you considering additional acquisitions in future? Would this process be something you'd do again?
Murray Seward (07:33)
Yeah... obviously depends on deals—but acquisitions make sense when they’re win-win situations—for buyers/sellers alike—or even their teams involved! Once internal growth caps out organically—acquisitions become logical next steps—even distressed ones offer value sometimes when assets/customers/employees align strategically!