TaylorMade-adidas Golf Agrees To Acquire Shares Of Ashworth

TaylorMade-adidas Golf has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Ashworth. The transaction value is $72.8M, which includes the assumption of $46.3M of Ashworth debt. adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer said in a statement, "Ashworth is a well-established, authentic golf apparel brand with a strong heritage and represents an excellent addition to TaylorMade and adidas Golf" (Ashworth). Ashworth said that adidas will buy Ashworth for about $28.1M, or $1.90 per share, as the company as of August 31 had 14.8 million outstanding shares. adidas said that the purchase "will widen its range of products and extend its marketing presence" (AP, 10/13). The deal is expected to close in Q4 (REUTERS, 10/13). At presstime, Ashworth shares were trading at $1.85, up 6.94% from Friday's close of $1.73 (THE DAILY).