Valve founder Gabe Newell just purchased a superyacht company


Valve founder Gabe Newell is setting out on a new adventure — and it doesn’t involve Half-Life 3. Instead, Newell is acquiring Oceanco, the yacht-building company that’s creating his $400 million super ship, as reported earlier by Boat International.
In a post about the change, Oceanco says Newell’s interest in the brand comes from a “lifelong fascination with the sea” and “a deep respect for the people who live and work on it.” Oceanco is based in the Netherlands, and it has changed leadership a few times since its founding in 1987, with private investor Mohammed Al Barwani helming the company for the past 15 years before Newell came along.
Along with Newell’s 364-foot-long superyacht, Oceanco developed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ $500 million sailing yacht, Koru, which stretches 417 feet long. It’s also behind the Kaos sailing superyacht owned by Walmart heir Nancy Walton Laurie, as well as the Bravo Eugenia, owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Newell has a growing fleet of yachts as well, including the Oceanco-built Draak (formerly called the Tranquility) and the Rocinante superyacht, built by German yacht-maker Lürssen.
As for what Newell plans to do now that he’s the head of a big superyacht builder, Oceanco puts it pretty simply: “His first decision? Leave the team alone. Seriously. Oceanco has vision and integrity, and a culture that actually works. Gabe doesn’t want to fix it, he wants to fuel it.”
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