Acushnet sold to Fila Korea, private equity firm

Acushnet sold to Fila Korea, private equity firm

Friday, May 20, 2011

After nearly six months of speculation, Fortune Brands has signed an agreement to sell its Acushnet business, comprised of the Titleist, FootJoy and Pinnacle brands, to Fila Korea Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity, the largest private equity firm in Korea. The sale remains subject to closing conditions, including the usual regulatory approvals, and is expected to close this summer. The price, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, is $1.225 billion.

It is expected that after the acquisition, Acushnet will remain as a standalone company with its worldwide headquarters remaining in Fairhaven, Mass. The current management team, including chairman and CEO Wally Uihlein, will remain in place.

“The Fila Korea and Mirae group understands and appreciates our golf industry leadership, passionate associates, and unique and enduring culture,” said Uihlein. “Together, with our new owners, our team is looking forward to strengthening and building upon the global success of the Titleist and FootJoy brands.”

Fila Korea has more than 500 total points of distribution including 300 franchise stores and ranks as one of the top sportswear brands in Korea, while Mirae listed more than $133 billion in assets in 2008.

“The acquisition of Acushnet transforms our platform with a stable of premier world class brands,” said Gene Yoon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fila Korea, Ltd. “We are equally excited to embrace Acushnet’s exceptional management team led by Wally Uihlein. With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunities for growth in the emerging markets in Asia.”

–E. Michael Johnson

Follow on Twitter @EMichaelGW

Read More   http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equipment/blogs/hotlist365/2011/05/acushnet-sold-to-fila-korea-pr.html#ixzz2QXLz2cuv

Titleist golf brand spun off by Fortune to Fila Korea

Fila Korea paid a high price for the golf business line, saying it had big growth plans for it in Asia

Fortune Brands has sold its golf business, including the Titleist equipment brand, to Korean investors led by Fila Korea, for $1.2bn (£740m).

The deal is part of Fortune’s strategy to focus purely on its drinks business, led by its Jim Beam whisky brand.

The price for its Acushnet golf unit, which made $80m operating income last year, is higher than had been expected.

Fila Korea, which bought the eponymous Italian sportswear brand in 2007, plans rapid growth for the golf line in Asia.

“With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunity for growth in the emerging markets in Asia,” said Gene Yoon, the firm’s chief executive.

Mirae Asset Private Equity – Korea’s largest private equity fund – were also involved in the acquisition.

The Koreans beat a rival bid said to have been mounted by private equity firm Blackstone and Callaway Golf.

Premium spirits

Illinois-based Fortune Brands announced last year that it would spin off its gold and home security businesses, and focus purely on drinks, in response to pressure from a key shareholder, William Ackmann.

Acushnet made revenues of $1.2bn in 2010 – more than half of it in the US – compared with the $2.7bn made by Fortune’s alcoholic beverages line.

Its Jim Beam business is the fourth largest premium spirits business in the world.

“This transaction is a very important milestone as we execute our proposed plan to separate our three strong businesses for the purpose of maximising long-term value for out shareholders,” said Fortune boss Bruce Carbonari.

The firm will now focus on separating out its home and security business – which includes Master Locks, Simonton windows and Masterbrand cabinets – in preparation for its sale.

Titleist golf brand spun off by Fortune to Fila Korea

Fila Korea paid a high price for the golf business line, saying it had big growth plans for it in Asia

Fortune Brands has sold its golf business, including the Titleist equipment brand, to Korean investors led by Fila Korea, for $1.2bn (£740m).

The deal is part of Fortune’s strategy to focus purely on its drinks business, led by its Jim Beam whisky brand.

The price for its Acushnet golf unit, which made $80m operating income last year, is higher than had been expected.

Fila Korea, which bought the eponymous Italian sportswear brand in 2007, plans rapid growth for the golf line in Asia.

“With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunity for growth in the emerging markets in Asia,” said Gene Yoon, the firm’s chief executive.

Mirae Asset Private Equity – Korea’s largest private equity fund – were also involved in the acquisition.

The Koreans beat a rival bid said to have been mounted by private equity firm Blackstone and Callaway Golf.

Premium spirits

Illinois-based Fortune Brands announced last year that it would spin off its gold and home security businesses, and focus purely on drinks, in response to pressure from a key shareholder, William Ackmann.

Acushnet made revenues of $1.2bn in 2010 – more than half of it in the US – compared with the $2.7bn made by Fortune’s alcoholic beverages line.

Its Jim Beam business is the fourth largest premium spirits business in the world.

“This transaction is a very important milestone as we execute our proposed plan to separate our three strong businesses for the purpose of maximising long-term value for out shareholders,” said Fortune boss Bruce Carbonari.

The firm will now focus on separating out its home and security business – which includes Master Locks, Simonton windows and Masterbrand cabinets – in preparation for its sale.

Fila Korea buys Titleist golf company for $1.2 billion – Gene Yoon, Chairman & CEO of Fila Global

http://www.gene-yoon.net/page/14/

A variety of products by Fortune Brands are seen in Denver, Colorado January 26, 2007. Left to right are Pinnacle golf balls, Titleist golf balls, Knob Creek bourbon, Markers Mark bourbon, Masterlocks locks and Moen faucets (catalog.)Fortune Brands agreed to sell its golf equipment business for $1.23 billion, to a group led by South Korean sports apparel and footwear maker Fila Korea Ltd, as part of Fortune’s goal to become a pure-play alcoholic drinks company. Credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking

By Denny Thomas and Robert MacMillan

HONG KONG/NEW YORK | Fri May 20, 2011 6:04pm EDT

(Reuters) – Titleist, one of world’s best-known golf equipment names, is getting a new owner after alcoholic drinks maker Fortune Brands Inc struck a deal to sell the brand to Fila Korea Ltd for $1.23 billion.

Fortune FO.N now will spend more time in the clubhouse than on the fairway. The maker of Jim Beam bourbon will focus on liquor after dropping its Acushnet subsidiary that makes Titleist golf balls, clubs and other equipment.

Fila Korea (CEO Gene Yoon) owns the Fila brand name, recognizable by many sports aficionados for its flowing, streamlined logo. It bought the brand in 2007 from Sports Brands International, a unit of hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management LP CBS.UL management.

The deal gave Fila Korea (081660.KS), which beat out private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) and others, the rights to the worldwide use of footwear and clothing brands. Fila was established in Italy in 1911.

Buying Acushnet — based in Fairhaven, Massachusetts and named for the Massachusetts town where it was founded in 1932 — makes sense for Fila and its partners, which include Mirae Asset Private Equity, National Pension Service of Korea and Korea Development Bank, experts said.

That is because its line of athletic clothes and shoes fits in better with golf equipment than Courvoisier cognac or Maker’s Mark bourbon, they added.

“This is one of those corporate separations that is good for both companies because it puts Titleist under the ownership of a more sports-oriented company,” said Craig Johnson, president of retail consulting firm Customer Growth Partners.

“Fortune can focus more on their true long suit, which is the adult beverages area,” said Johnson, who was reached by phone while in the golf section of a Wal-Mart near New Haven, Connecticut.

Fortune was under some pressure to change its business last year because of investor William Ackman. At the time, it said it would sell Acushnet, which also makes FootJoy gloves and shoes, and spin off its home products business, which makes Moen faucets.

Nearly half of the golf unit’s 2010 sales of $1.24 billion came from markets outside the United States. The unit had an operating income of about $80.2 million last year.

“We think the valuation of the business is fair,” said Jefferies analyst Douglas Lane, who added that the purchase price implies a valuation of 1 times its estimated 2011 sales and just below 10.5 times 2011 estimated EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Fortune expects net proceeds of about $1.1 billion from the sale.

Those statistics of course appeal mostly to investors as well as the banks that worked on the deal, which included Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Centerview Partners for Fortune and Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) and KDB for Fila.

Selling Acushnet and the Titleist brand will have few implications for people who buy Titleist equipment, according to retail experts.

“These … kinds of things certainly are interesting to investors and so forth, but the guy that has to walk into the sporting goods place and pick out a box of golf balls for himself, he’s not thinking about who’s managing the company,” said Robert Passikoff, president of consultancy Brand Keys Inc. “He’s thinking about if he can cut three strokes off his game.”

Fortune’s shares closed down 1.6 percent at $63.88 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Aldred in Hong Kong, and Mihir Dalal and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore. Editing by Dan Lalor, Sriraj Kalluvila)

Fila Korea buys Titleist for global expansion – Gene Yoon, Chairman & CEO of FILA Global

“The acquisition of Acushnet transforms our platform with a stable of premiere world class brands,” said Fila Korea Chairman and CEO Gene Yoon.

Gene Yoon, Chairman & CEO of Fila Global

Fila Korea Ltd., a South Korean sportswear maker, said Saturday it signed a deal to acquire global golf equipment maker Acushnet Company, becoming the new owner of leading golf brands such as Titleist as it moves to boost its global presence.

Under the deal, Fila Korea and Mirae Asset Private Equity Fund agreed with U.S.-based Fortune Brands Inc. to buy Acushnet Company for $1.23 billion, the companies said in a statement. Acushnet Company is the world’s leading golf equipment maker with brands such as Titleist and FootJoy under its wing.

The transaction, which is expected to close this summer, also includes South Korea’s National Pension Service and state-run Korea Development Bank, according to the statement.

The move is widely expected to drive Fila Korea’s global expansion and strengthen its golf business.

“The acquisition of Acushnet transforms our platform with a stable of premiere world class brands,” said Fila Korea Chairman and CEO Gene Yoon. “With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunity for growth in the emerging markets in Asia.”

Established in 1991, Fila Korea listed its shares on the Seoul main bourse in September. In 2010, the sportswear maker posted operating profit of 53.4 billion won ($49 million) and net profit of 44.2 billion won. (Yonhap)

Bogey player’s albatross shot

Gene Yoon, Chairman & CEO of Fila Global

Fila CEO buying global golf product makers Titleist, FootJoy

By Oh Young-jin

What does Gene Yoon, chairman and CEO of sportswear maker, Fila have in mind?

One thing that is certain is that Yoon, an amateur golfer with a handicap of 18 for an 18-hole round, has as good as hit an albatross by snaring one of the biggest deals in the global golf industry.

It is hard to catch a glimpse into the business mind of one of the most celebrated self-made businessmen in Korea but, by some indications, he has set his mind on making his sportswear making firm into a golf conglomerate such as Tailor-Made or Nike Golf.
Last week, Yoon made it into headlines, as he, with the help of Mirae Asset, took over Acushnet, the U.S. golf firm that has Titelist golf ball maker and FootJoy golf shoemaker, at a cost of $1.2 billion.

“I want to create big synergy between Fila, and Titelist and FootJoy,” Yoon told The Korea Times during a phone interview Sunday. “I believe that these firms, the world leading firms in their given areas of business, will encourage the development of the golf-related industry in Korea where there is no infrastructure to name.”

In the process, Yoon beat out Adidas, which owns Tailor-Made, and U.S. golf giant Callaway that bid in a consortium with the world’s largest private equity, Blackstone.”

“We needed this deal more than the others,” Yoon said. The deal immediately puts Fila on the map of golf-related item makers, setting the stage for its foray into China, the biggest emerging market where golf is fast gaining popularity.

He said, for now, that he would make no new purchases anytime soon.

Showing his commitment to his latest buys, the 66-year-old Korean industrialist said that their current management will be kept for a considerable period of time. “Any change will be made at a time when his firms achieve synergy to the hilt.”

The history of Yoon and Mirae goes back some time when Mirae helped him buy Fila, the Italian firm, in 2007. Two years prior, Yoon bought Fila Korea, the Korean branch, from its Italian owner.

“I have not seen Mirae Chairman Park Hyun-joo,” he said without clarifying whether he meant he had not seen him while the deal was being made or he doesn’t know Park.

When he answered the call, Yoon said that he was playing a round of golf.

However much he loves the sport, he said that he is an average player, his handicaps being one over par or 18 for a 72 par 18-hole round.

“I love to play but I can’t because of my tight business schedule,” he said, adding that he plays about three times a month.

Acushnet to be sold to Korean

Fila Korea to buy Acushnet

Titleist balls on display during the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show.

By Gene Yasuda

As of Monday, May 23, 2011

Acushnet Co., owners of the Titleist and FootJoy brands, has reached an agreement to be acquired by an Asian group led by Fila Korea Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity, the largest private equity firm in Korea.

The May 20 announcement of the pending sale ends months of intense industry speculation about the future of Acushnet, whose parent Fortune Brands decided in December to split its company, including possibly selling its golf division. Acushnet did not release terms of the sale, but the Associated Press reported Fortune anticipates reaping $1.1 billion after taxes and expenses following the deal’s expected close this summer.

Though premature to assess the full impact of the ownership change, it clarifies key issues for Acushnet: The company will operate as a standalone entity and remain based in Fairhaven, Mass. Wally Uihlein and Acushnet’s current management team, who have built Titleist and FootJoy into dominant product category leaders, will remain intact.

“The Fila Korea and Mirae group understands and appreciates our golf industry leadership, passionate associates, and unique and enduring culture,” said Wally Uihlein, Acushnet’s chairman and CEO. “Together, with our new owners, our team is looking forward to strengthening and building upon the global success of the Titleist and FootJoy brands.”

The acquisition also underscores not only Asia-Pacific’s interest in golf, but its growing influence in shaping the sport and its industry. Ownership of Acushnet – one of the largest golf equipment companies in the world with annual sales exceeding $1.2 billion in 2010 – reflects the region’s clout and holds the promise of boosting Acushnet’s sales overseas.

“The fact that Asia Pacific represents over 30 percent of the world’s total golf equipment spending, and that South Korean golfers are among the most passionate and organized in the game, is testament to the significant investment in the Acushnet Company by the Fila Korea and Mirae group,” Uihlein said.

Fila Korea is the entity that owns the Fila brand globally. Established in Italy in 1911, Fila is a leading sport and leisure footwear and apparel brand. The acquisition group led by Fila Korea and Mirae, also includes the National Pension Service of Korea, the fourth-largest pension fund in the world, and Korea Development Bank, Korea’s largest government-owned bank.

“With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunities for growth in the emerging markets in Asia,” said Gene Yoon, Fila Korea’s chairman and CEO.

Said JH Ryu, chief executive of Mirae Asset Private Equity: “We will fully support the company (Acushnet) to remain focused on its core golf expertise and continue driving the growth of the industry.”