adidas is focused on "finding a buyer for Adams," a brand within its TaylorMade golf unit that "makes clubs for beginners, and the Ashworth polos and cardigans business," according to Aaron Ricadela of BLOOMBERG NEWS. But adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer "isn't ruling out exiting the entire business" of golf if Guggenheim Partners "advises." A culture shift is "partly to blame: weekend players are aging, millennials aren't taking up the sport, and Tiger Woods is not exactly a big draw anymore." UBS analyst Fred Speirs said, "Golf equipment demand is undoubtedly going through a tricky patch and it's getting harder to envisage a significant recovery at least in the near-term." adidas' TaylorMade golf division had $995M in sales last year, but "valuing it is difficult." Speirs said that a buyer "could pay" 80-100% of '15 sales. Titleist ball maker Acushnet in '11 sold for $1.23B. But in the case of TaylorMade, there are "no obvious suitors." Nike gets less than 5% of sales from golf and is "unlikely to invest in the sport." Speirs noted that while Under Armour sells golf apparel and "could potentially use a deal to add clubs." Bryan Garnier & Co. analyst Cedric Rossi said, "The only interested buyers could likely be investment funds who could restructure it and sell it to someone else" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/6). DZ Bank analyst Herbert Sturm said TaylorMade's 26% year-over-year sales drop in Q2 was "disappointing" and "much worse than expected." The FINANCIAL TIMES' James Shotter noted the unit's "underperformance contributed to a profit warning" by adidas last year (FT.com, 8/6).
