This article was published on July 21, 2025, at 1:06 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Amid efforts to sell its management rights, TaylorMade, one of the world’s three major golf corporations (Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade), decided to exercise a preemptive right by domestic fashion corporation F&F. Goldman Sachs was selected as the lead underwriter.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 21st, F&F signed a lead underwriting contract with Goldman Sachs to exercise its preemptive right for TaylorMade.
A company official noted, “This is part of our initial investment plan to achieve the acquisition of TaylorMade. We deemed it necessary to effectively exercise the preemptive right held by F&F as and when judged appropriate and to conduct the necessary preparations for completing the acquisition.”
Previously, F&F invested as a major strategic investor (SI) in the fund when the domestic private equity fund (PEF) operator Centroid Investment Partners acquired TaylorMade for 2.1 trillion won. It invested 200 billion won in subordinated mezzanine and 300 billion won in subordinated equity investments, effectively contributing 500 billion won, which is half of the acquisition price of approximately 1 trillion won excluding liabilities.
So far, F&F and Centroid have had conflicts over ‘prior consent rights.’ F&F holds prior consent rights regarding important matters along with the preemptive right for TaylorMade. F&F has repeatedly expressed its intention to exercise these prior consent rights to oppose the sale, stating, “Don’t sell now; let’s go public when the company grows more.” It is reported that they even considered filing a request for an injunction to prohibit the sale once Centroid formally begins the sale process.
However, F&F emphasized that it has not withdrawn its existing stance related to prior consent rights. A company official stated, “There is no fact that F&F provided prior consent regarding the sale of TaylorMade, and the ongoing sale process significantly infringes upon our contractual rights,” adding, “Separate from acquisition preparations, we will utilize all means necessary to hold Centroid accountable for the contract violations that have already occurred.”
With Goldman Sachs appointed as the lead underwriter this time, F&F is expected to exercise its preemptive right if a third party proposes to acquire TaylorMade. F&F has the right to first acquire management rights on the same terms within 14 days after a third-party acquisition proposal. Centroid is reportedly expecting a corporate value of 5 trillion won for TaylorMade.
Centroid has already formally initiated the sale process. It sent teaser letters to domestic and international financial investors (FI) and strategic investors (SI) through JP Morgan and Jefferies. Industry sources indicate that global private equity firms, particularly those of Chinese origin, are showing significant interest in TaylorMade. Some investors are said to have contacted Centroid even before the teaser letter was sent.