Korean PE Centroid among shortlisted bidders for TaylorMade Golf

South Korea’s lesser-known private equity firm Centroid Investment Partners is among the shortlisted candidates for US sports equipment manufacturing firm TaylorMade Golf Co., up for sale with an estimated $2 billion price tag.

According to the investment banking industry on Apr. 8, Centroid Investment and four other groups of global strategic investors and financial investors have been named preferred bidders for TaylorMade Golf.

Centroid Investment is said to be seeking to form a consortium with other strategic investors in Korea to win the bid.

TaylorMade is the sponsor for many noted PGA Tour players, including Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

New York-based KPS Capital Partners, the owner of TaylorMade Golf, has reportedly put the golf equipment brand up for sale, with the potential asking price exceeding $2 billion.

KPS Capital recently hired Morgan Stanley to run the sale of TaylorMade based in Carlsbad, California, according to the New York Times.

KPS acquired TaylorMade in May 2017 from Adidas for $425 million as the German sportswear and equipment maker sought to refocus on soft goods and footwear in the golf retail space. If the deal is finalized, KPS is expected to reap more than five times its investment in TaylorMade.

CENTROID’S FOCUS ON GOLF INDUSTRY

Centroid Investment, the Seoul-based PE, came into the spotlight last year for its high-profile acquisition of 18-hole golf course South Springs Country Club from BGF Group for about 172 billion won, or 9.5 billion won per hole, marking one of the priciest golf course sales in Korea.

Founded in 2015, Centroid Investment has handled several deals involving big Korean business groups.

In December 2019, the private equity firm acquired fabric maker Kolon Advanced Fiber from textile conglomerate Kolon Group. In the following year, Centroid purchased Woongjin Booxen, a book distributor, from Woongjin Group.

If Centroid succeeds in taking over TaylorMade, it would mark the biggest deal in the golf goods industry since Fila Korea Ltd.’s $1.3 billion acquisition in 2011 of Acushnet Holdings Corp., which owned Titleist, the world’s largest manufacturer of golf balls and equipment.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at Why29@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.