ClubCorp acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management

[nevets88]

Around 10 years ago, another PE firm acquired ClubCorp for 1.8b, now Apollo gets it for 1.1b. ClubCorp notably owns Firestone, The Woodlands and Mission Hills.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-09/golf-s-clubcorp-agrees-to-be-bought-by-apollo-for-1-1-billion

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-clubcorp-m-a-apolloglobal-idUSKBN19U0Y0

http://ir.clubcorp.com/Investors/News/News-Details/2017/ClubCorp-Enters-into-a-Definitive-Agreement-to-be-Acquired-by-Certain-Investment-Funds-Affiliated-with-Apollo-Global-Management-in-an-All-Cash-Transaction-Valued-at-11-Billion/default.aspx

[nevets88]

Quote

More broadly, golf has seen a resurgence in so-called avid players, those who play at least 25 rounds on a regulation course per year. The number rose to 8.8 million last year, up 400,000 from 2015, according to the National Golf Foundation. Avid players are critical to the health of the sport because they account for 80 percent of industry spending.

During Woods’ prime, millions of new players flocked annually to golf -- and the sport seemed poised to shed its country-club image and become more mainstream. But the industry now regards those days as a bubble.

The challenge now is rebuilding with more realistic aspirations.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-10/golf-s-new-stars-duffers-buoy-70-billion-industry-after-tiger

[davechen]

Interesting article.  They seem to be pretty optimistic about golf as a business.  I'm not sure I buy it, but it'd be nice if it were true.