Titleist parent company Acushnet Holdings goes public
10/28/2016 | by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com

Trading under the symbol "GOLF" on the NYSE, the shares priced Thursday evening at $17, they are trading in a narrow range around that number on Friday
Trading under the symbol "FORE" on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the shares are being offered at a price of $17, which will raise an expected $329M for Acushnet's parent company, Fila Korea and other insiders selling the shares. The shares are being sold by company insiders, which means that after the IPO is complete the majority voting power will be in the hands of Fila.
Don Dion of the popular investment website Seeiking Alpha gave this summary in his 10/26 update:
Acushnet (NASDAQ:GOLF), manufactures and sells golf equipment under various brands, with the most notable being Titleist. The company is expected to IPO on Friday, 10.28.16. GOLF plans to offer 19.33 million shares at an expected price range of $21 to $24. [they priced at $17, ed] Shares will be offered by company insiders; therefore, the company will not receive any net proceeds from the offering. Upon completion of the offering, Magnus, which is wholly-owned by Fila Korea will control 53.1% of the common stock. Fila Korea Ltd., purchased Acushnet for $1.23 billion in 2011.
Assuming GOLF prices at $22.50, the mid-point of the range, it will have a market cap value of $1.667 billion. Underwriters for the deal include: J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Securities, UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse, Daiwa Securities, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, Wells Fargo Securities, D.A. Davidson, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Raymond James, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Read full Seeking Alpha story
What does this mean for golfers?
Well, probably not much initially (unless you buy
the
stock of course). In terms of the way Titleist and
FootJoy do business, it should be "business as
usual" --
just as it was when the company was acquired by
their
parent Fila Korea. Many golfers probably didn't
even
know a change of ownership took place. All credit
to
the new owners (and a dedicated management
team in
Fairhaven, Mass.) for that.
You'll still find Titleist and FootJoy products in
ample
supply everywhere. And while the company doesn't
directly receive funds from this sale, it will certainly
be in the limelight for the week and as we begin a
new season on Tour you might expect to see some
Nike players taking a hard look at making a move to
Titleist.
What does it mean for investors?
If you believe in the long term prospects for a
market
leader in a slow growth sport then buying shares of
"GOLF" could be a good long term investment. And
most certainly, if you watch CNBC or Bloomberg
you're
going to see some coverage not only of the IPO,
but
each quarter when they report earnings. Due to the
relatively small market cap, however, don't expect
much more than a mention on busy earnings days
when the titans of tech, biotech, healthcare, and
more
report their numbers. Just as one example, Under
Armour (UA)'s market cap is 8-10 times more than
the
expected number for Acushnet.
What does the golf industry look like
today - who
owns who?
You might remember when Acushnet was owned by
a
conglomerate called Fortune Brands. You may also
recall that Cobra was one of Acushnet's brands,
prior to
them spinning it off. Indeed, it can be hard to keep
a
scorecard of "who owns who" in the golf business,
especially with the major footwear companies
playing a
major part (TaylorMade/adidas, Cobra-Puma Golf).
Callaway Golf (trading under the symbol ELY) is
currently the only "pure play" golf company you
can
buy shares of. Being joined by Acushnet could be
good
news for both companies, especially as the golf
business continues to stabilize. The chart below
breaks
down the golf companies by ownership:
ACUSHNET (Will trade under symbol
GOLF)
- majority owned Fila Korea
CALLAWAY (ELY) Shares
have doubled from mid-2011 low of $5 on strength of
product and by focusing on core business
TAYLORMADE (Includes Adams and
Ashworth brands) - Owned by adidas AG who
announced in
May they were selling and is reportedly close to
identifying new ownership. Tiger Woods was said to
be in talks to be part of an ownership group. Don't
believe everything you hear.
PING - Privately held company that pioneered custom fitting for the golf masses. Had one of the most successful drivers of the past 2-3 years with the G30.
COBRA/PUMA GOLF - As the name implies, the company is owned by shoemaker Puma, and recently signed Bryson DeChambeau to their Tour staff
CLEVELAND/SRIXON - Owned by Dunlop, which falls under the Sumitomo Rubber umbrella
NIKE - Continues to make shoes and apparel, but exited the golf ball and club business just months ago
BRIDGESTONE - Like Cleveland/Srixon, the parent company is a rubber/tire company and the ball is their main business. They made the Nike ball on contract, so will see a small hit in that area.
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