Adidas has been attempting to sell TaylorMade since last May, but losses at the golf equipment brand are "much greater than many potential bidders anticipated, causing suitors to walk away," according to sources cited by Josh Kosman of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the golf division -- which includes TaylorMade and the "much smaller Adams and Ashworth brands -- is losing" between $75-100M a year. That is "quite a fall" from '13. Sources said that the TaylorMade brand then was posting $1.7B in sales and a "healthy profit." Today, sales are "a little better" than $500M. Adidas last year was asking for more than $500M for the business. But a source who considered making a bid said that it "now may have to give it away." TaylorMade’s reputation is "largely based on its market-leading drivers." But rival Callaway Golf last month "introduced a completely new driver, the Epic, which takes direct aim at TaylorMade." A source said that the Epic is a "big threat to TaylorMade." The source added that a suitor "may now wait a few months to see if Callaway becomes the main driver in the industry." Sources said that adidas "needs to find a buyer for the golf equipment brands in the next three months or it will likely have to either shut them down or keep them in house and work at reducing losses" (N.Y. POST, 2/28).
