American sports equipment manufacturing company
TaylorMade Golf Company
is an American
sports equipment
manufacturing company based in
Carlsbad, California
,
United States
. The company focuses on the
golf equipment
market, producing
golf clubs
,
balls
, and
clothing
. TaylorMade Golf is currently a
subsidiary
of Centroid Investment Partners after it was purchased from
KPS Capital Partners
in May 2021.
[1]
TaylorMade's initial success came with the innovation of metal drivers, which debuted in 1979 and have subsequently dominated the golf market.
[2]
In September 2012,
Outside
magazine named TaylorMade one of America's "Best Places to Work".
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Origins in Illinois
[
edit
]
TaylorMade incorporated in 1979 after
Gary Adams
borrowed $24,000 on his house and leased a 6,000 square foot building in
McHenry, Illinois
. He originally had three employees and sold only one item, his newly invented 12-degree loft
metalwood
. The metalwood was unique in its steel construction - replacing persimmon as the primary material from which modern drivers are manufactured - and adopted the nickname "
Pittsburgh
Persimmon".
[4]
Starting with $47,000 in sales in 1979, the company eventually reached its first billion dollars in revenue in 2006, marking only the second time in history that a golf
brand
had achieved this milestone.
[5]
Purchase by Salomon Group (1984)
[
edit
]
TaylorMade was independently owned until 1984, when
Salomon S.A.
acquired the company. At the time, the union was strategically compatible for both companies which were innovators in their industries: Salomon wanted to diversify and made the decision to enter a "three-season" market, and TaylorMade benefited from the worldwide resources of Salomon.
[
citation needed
]
This ownership maintained until
Adidas
bought Salomon in 1997.
[6]
Sale to Adidas (1997)
[
edit
]
Shortly after the Adidas
acquisition
, the image and focus of TaylorMade were redirected to take over the driver market; the company succeeded in achieving this goal in late 2005, when it officially became the top driver in golf. TaylorMade bought golf clothing companies
Ashworth
in 2008 and
Adams Golf
in 2012 but sold them to KPS Capital Partners in 2017.
[7]
[8]
[9]
Sale to KPS Capital Partners (2017)
[
edit
]
In 2017 it was announced that
Tiger Woods
and
Rory McIlroy
had signed with TaylorMade after
Nike
's golf division closed.
[10]
[11]
On May 10, 2017 it was announced that
KPS Capital Partners
acquired TaylorMade for US$425 million.
[12]
The deal was completed in November of 2017.
[13]
Days after the deal was completed, TaylorMade released a statement to say it had parted company with
Sergio Garcia
, who had been with the brand for 15 years.
[14]
Sale to Centroid Investment Partners (2021)
[
edit
]
On February 2, 2021 the New York Times reported that KPS had hired
Morgan Stanley
to run a sale of TaylorMade with a value estimated around US$2 billion.
[15]
On May 11, 2021 Centroid Investment Partners - a Korean private equity firm - signed a definitive agreement to purchase TaylorMade from KPS
[16]
for a value of US$1.7 billion.
[17]
Sun Day Red (2024)
[
edit
]
On February 12, 2024, TaylorMade partnered with
Tiger Woods
to launch the golfer's apparel line, Sun Day Red.
[18]
[19]
Parent companies
[
edit
]
Endorsements
[
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]
As with most golf equipment companies, TaylorMade maintain endorsement deals with many
professional golfers
on the leading
tours
, including past
world number ones
such as
Tiger Woods
,
Rory McIlroy
,
Scottie Scheffler
and
Dustin Johnson
. Most contracted players will have the majority, if not all, of their playing equipment supplied by the company, including
Collin Morikawa
,
Tommy Fleetwood
,
Nelly Korda
,
Brooke Henderson
and
Charley Hull
. A few are only contracted for one item, such as
Rickie Fowler
whose deal only extends to golf balls.
[20]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"TAYLORMADE GOLF COMPANY, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED BY CENTROID INVESTMENT PARTNERS ? TaylorMade Golf (news)"
.
newsroom.taylormadegolf.com
. Retrieved
2021-09-11
.
- ^
"History of Taylor Made Golf Co. ? FundingUniverse"
.
www.fundinguniverse.com
.
- ^
"TaylorMade named one of Outside's best places to work"
.
PGA.com
.
- ^
"Golf Equipment That Changed the Game"
.
Golf.com
.
- ^
Mike Camunas.
"TaylorMade Golf History"
.
- ^
News, Bloomberg (1997-09-17).
"Adidas to Buy Salomon, a French Sports Company"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2017-11-07
.
- ^
"TAYLORMADE-ADIDAS GOLF COMPANY COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF ADAMS GOLF"
.
adidas-group.com
. 2012-06-01
. Retrieved
2024-02-07
.
- ^
"TAYLORMADE-ADIDAS GOLF COMPANY TO ACQUIRE ASHWORTH, INC"
.
adidas-group.com
. 2008-10-13
. Retrieved
2024-02-07
.
- ^
"Adidas sells golf businesses for $425 million"
.
ESPN.com
. 2017-05-10
. Retrieved
2024-02-07
.
- ^
"Tiger Woods signing with TaylorMade among equipment stories of the year | Golf News and Tour Information | Golf Digest"
.
- ^
Murray, Ewan (9 May 2017).
"Rory McIlroy signs $100m TaylorMade deal before Players Championship | Rory McIlroy | The Guardian"
.
TheGuardian.com
.
- ^
Matuszewski, Erik.
"This Week In Golf Biz: TaylorMade Is Sold, McIlroy's $100 Million Deal, PXG's New Wedges"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
2017-11-07
.
- ^
"TaylorMade Golf sold for $425 million to KPS Capital Partners LP"
.
- ^
Inglis, Martin (October 9, 2017).
"Sergio Garcia announces shock split from TaylorMade"
.
bunkered
.
- ^
Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Karaian, Jason; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2021-02-02).
"How to Fix the Markets"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2021-09-08
.
- ^
"Centroid Investment Partners to Acquire TaylorMade Golf Company, Inc"
.
www.businesswire.com
. 2021-05-11
. Retrieved
2021-09-08
.
- ^
"Korea's Centroid Investment to name strategic partners next week - Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea"
.
pulsenews.co.kr
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
2021-09-08
.
- ^
Romero, Brittany (February 12, 2024).
"Tiger Woods announces new apparel line Sun Day Red"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
Hirsch, Lauren; Friedman, Vanessa (February 12, 2024).
"Tiger Woods Introduces His New Brand: Sun Day Red"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Team TaylorMade | TaylorMade Golf"
.
www.taylormadegolf.com
.
External links
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]