Adidas Sells Golf Brands TaylorMade, Adams, Ashworth To KPS For $425M

Adidas is selling its golf equipment and clothing brands, TaylorMade, Adams Golf and Ashworth, to private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, "taking a hit to its earnings," according to Arno Schuetze of REUTERS. The German brand said in a statement that it will receive $425M, "around half of which will be paid in cash and the rest in secured notes and contingent considerations." It added that following the sale, which it expects to conclude "later this year," it will book a charge in the "high double-digit to low triple-digit millions of euros range." Adidas put the loss-making business up for sale last year to "focus on shoes and clothing." After peaking around '00, when Tiger Woods was in his prime, the number of people playing golf in the U.S., which accounts for half of the global golf market, "has fallen sharply." Adidas bought TaylorMade in '97 -- "developing it into the world's biggest supplier of golf drivers" -- acquired Ashworth in '08 and Adams four years later (REUTERS, 5/10).