Voice Caddie, Daol PE acquire US golf grip brand SuperStroke

Voice Caddie, a South Korean maker of golf course rangefinders and related golf products, and Daol Private Equity are jointly acquiring SuperStroke, a US putter and club grip maker.

The Korean rangefinder maker, also known as VC, and Daol PE, formerly KTB Private Equity, have signed a deal to buy nearly 100% of SuperStroke, investment banking sources said on Wednesday.

VC and Daol are acquiring the US grips maker through a special purpose company (SPC), in which SuperStroke founder and Chief Executive Dean Dingman also plans to make an equity investment, the sources said.

Currently, SuperStroke is owned by Dingman and private equity firms such EG Capital and Five Points Capital.

The value of the deal wasn’t immediately known, but people familiar with the deal said in April that Daol and its strategic investor are in exclusive talks to buy the entirety of SuperStroke for around 300 billion won ($232 million).

KOREAN GOLFER K.J. CHOI

Headquartered in Michigan, the US company was up for grabs in the M&A market in the second half of last year.

SuperStroke is known for putter grips and club grips used by top professional golfers such as Rory Mcllroy, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson.

Starting as a manufacturer of putter grips in 1998, the company is now offering a series of grips attached to 14 types of golf clubs, including drivers and irons. Its sales in 2021 were estimated at $30 million.

In Korea, the company’s grips, made of high-end rubber and synthetic polymers, became popular in 2007 when famous Korean professional golfer K.J. Choi won a PGA Tour tournament using them.

Daol PE is one of Korea’s first-generation homegrown PE houses, launched in 2005 as an in-house PE division of KTB Investment & Securities Co. The brokerage company last March changed its name to Daol Investment & Securities, along with its affiliates.

AIM TO VENTURE INTO OTHER SPORTS

Voice Caddie, which unveiled the world’s first voice rangefinder in 2011, has enjoyed the No. 1 market share in the rangefinder category in Korea for years and is actively expanding into the US market.

Last year, the company was named the official rangefinder of the LPGA Tour in a multi-year agreement.

VC has provided LPGA Tour, Symetra Tour, LET and LET Access Series players with its SL2 Laser Rangefinder, which has a special competition mode to ensure players and caddies do not have access to certain functionality prohibited under the Rules of Golf during play.

The company’s technology utilizes a laser beam and GPS to provide accurate distances, reducing incorrect measurements or chances of focusing on the wrong object. The SL2, its latest model, has a state-of-the-art Auto Pin Location feature that enables the user to quickly find an exact hole location.

“Over the long term, we are also considering venturing into sports other than golf,” said Voice Caddie founder and Chief Executive Juno Kim.

Write to Si-Eun Park and Hyung-gyo Seo at seeker@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.