TaylorMade set for sale as US sports mogul joins bidding race

The sale process for global golf brand TaylorMade has entered a new phase, with a foreign private equity fund teaming up with a prominent figure in American sports to join the race. Fashion company F&F, which holds a right of first refusal, has secured acquisition financing, setting the stage for an intense competition over who will ultimately take ownership.

According to investment banking sources Friday, Centroid Investment Partners, the domestic private equity firm and TaylorMade's largest shareholder, has designated global private equity fund Entrada as its preferred bidder. The asking price is understood to be just under 4 trillion won ($2.72 billion). JPMorgan and Jefferies are managing the sale.

Entrada has been conducting due diligence on TaylorMade and must submit a letter of commitment by August to retain its preferred bidder status.

Entrada is understood to have formed a consortium with Dave Checketts, a prominent American sports executive and investor, to pursue the acquisition. Checketts is the founder and first owner of Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. The club has become familiar to Korean fans in recent months after facing LAFC, the team Son Heung-min plays for.

Last year, Checketts joined forces with New York- and Salt Lake City-based The Cynosure Group to launch a $1.2 billion joint fund called Cynosure-Checketts Sports Capital, focused on global sports assets. Among its notable investments is ALK Capital, the owner of Burnley FC in the English Premier League and Espanyol in Spain's La Liga.

Entrada was also cited as a runner-up bidder in TaylorMade's sale process late last year. At the time, Entrada's offer was approximately $2.4 billion, falling short of rival Old Tom Capital's bid of approximately $3.2 billion.

Centroid PE had earlier designated Old Tom Capital as its preferred bidder and continued negotiations, but stripped the firm of that status earlier this year after it failed to submit a letter of commitment by the deadline. Entrada subsequently joined the newly reconstituted negotiating table and appears to have put forward a purchase price in line with its earlier offer.

The biggest variable in this sale is the expected move by F&F, a major limited partner in Centroid PE. F&F is a global fashion company that operates licensed brands including MLB and Discovery Expedition as well as its own label Duvetica. The company posted consolidated sales of 1.93 trillion won and operating profit of 468.5 billion won last year.

Centroid PE acquired a 100 percent stake in TaylorMade for about 2 trillion won in 2021, with F&F contributing roughly 550 billion won as a key limited partner. In the process, F&F secured a right of first refusal — giving it the option to acquire the stake on the same terms as the preferred bidder when TaylorMade is sold.

F&F is expected to decide whether to exercise that right based on the final sale price. Market participants widely believe that, unlike the price sought by former preferred bidder Old Tom Capital, Entrada's offer falls within a range F&F could finance through acquisition loans. The fact that F&F has already secured letters of commitment from multiple securities firms adds further weight to the likelihood it will exercise its right of first refusal.

The seller's side maintains, however, that Entrada has not been formally designated as preferred bidder and that discussions are ongoing with multiple potential buyers. Centroid PE is also said to have approached MBK Partners earlier this year about acquiring TaylorMade, underscoring that it has been exploring deal possibilities with a range of candidates.