Sources: Providence Equity Exploring Sale Of World Triathlon Corp.

Sources said that Providence Equity has begun exploring selling World Triathlon Corp., which owns the Ironman races. One source said that Providence could sell the endurance race series, sell public stock or simply hold the asset. A source said that WTC has between $50-60M of cash flow and a sale could fetch as much as 20 times that amount. However, other sources said a far likelier multiple is about 13 times cash flow. The seller is sure to ask for the higher multiple. At the least, a sale would then be over $650M.

Providence bought WTC in '08, and the length of time is somewhat on the high end for private-equity firms to hold a company. The likely buyer of the race series could be another private-equity fund. WTC has 250 events in 25 countries, including its iconic Ironman triathlon in Hawaii. Sources said that Providence has only recently begun talking to financial advisors.