This article was published on May 9, 2025, at 10:16 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
The sale of the management rights of TaylorMade, one of the world's top three golf brands, is expected to begin in earnest next month. The selling side is reported to anticipate a corporate value of about 5 trillion won.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 9th, the lead managers of the TaylorMade sale, JPMorgan and Jefferies, plan to distribute teaser letters to potential buyers in June and July. Strategic investors (SIs) from China and the Middle East have been mentioned as candidates, and the teaser letters are expected to be sent to gauge their interest.
The Centroid Investment Partners, which holds the management rights to TaylorMade, is reported to seek a sale price of 5 trillion won. This price takes into account the stock price of Acushnet Holdings listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Last year, TaylorMade's EBITDA was recorded at about $222 million (approximately 310 billion won), and applying a multiple of 15 to 16 results in about 5 trillion won. The EV/EBITDA multiple of Acushnet Holdings at the end of last year was similar at 14.5 times.
Fashion company F&F, which participated as a strategic investor (SI) since the acquisition of TaylorMade's management rights, maintains its opposition to the sale. Through legal advice from Yulchon LLC, it has reportedly sent continuous official letters stating that it will legitimately exercise its preemptive rights in the event of enforced sale.
Additionally, F&F is also reported to argue that 'unclear parts regarding preemptive rights need to be further discussed.' F&F holds all preemptive rights regarding TaylorMade's preemptive rights and significant matters. While F&F has expressed several times its intention to oppose the sale by exercising its preemptive rights and stated, 'Let’s not sell now; let’s go public when the company is bigger,' Centroid has countered that 'sale' is not included within the scope of preemptive rights.
Centroid also insists that the regulations related to preemptive rights are already clear. If a third party proposes to acquire Centroid, F&F can first acquire management rights under the same price conditions within 14 days. If a third party offers a corporate value of 5 trillion won for acquisition, F&F would also need to offer more than 5 trillion won.
From F&F's perspective, if it wants management rights, waiting until the fund liquidation to receive an in-kind distribution would be the best scenario. When F&F invested 550 billion won in the fund, the corporate value of TaylorMade was approximately 2.1 trillion won.