Fox golf analyst Greg Norman is "branching out from golf course design and wine to start his own asset-based debt-lending fund" with $75M in capital, according to Michael Buteau of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Great White Shark Opportunity Fund, part of Norman’s Great White Shark Enterprises, "will be led by 60-year-old Norman ... and three existing employees of his company" -- Managing Dir and Chief Investment Officer David Chessler, CFO and General Counsel Jack Schneider and President Bart Collins, Norman’s long-time business manager and agent. Norman’s fund "will invest in public and private U.S.-based and foreign businesses." It will target companies with less than $25M in revenues that are profitable, and "with a good management track record," investing between $1-$10M (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/26). CNBC.com's Tom Cunneff noted Norman "won't reveal what companies they've invested in so far." Norman said, "It's a good place to be in right now, because a lot of small, entrepreneurial businesses can't get capital to grow their business. ... We don't want to be a $20 billion fund. We just want to be like the space we're in." Cunneff noted the company, which is "named after his famous nickname," reportedly posted $300M in revenues in '14. Norman's success "is due to his global diversification strategy." His "most profitable division is his golf course design company," which charges $1.5M for a signature design. It has "opened 95 courses worldwide and has another 42 projects in various stages of development." Since GWSE is "such a closely held company, Norman won't disclose what his gross revenues were last year but does claim they increased" by 63% (CNBC.com, 3/24).
