Pinnacle Goes For Best Of Both Worlds

Pinnacle has streamlined its previous four-model value family into one performance target, with Pinnacle Gold designed to offer both distance and soft feel.

The new Pinnacle product line is offered in four options:   Pinnacle Gold comes in bright white and high optix yellow; while Pinnacle Gold Ribbon is sold in bright white and clear pearlescent pink.

“The technology behind the new Pinnacle Gold delivers the best combination of powerful distance and soft feel,” said Michael Mahoney, director of golf ball product management for Acushnet.

“Golfers looking for a simple choice do not have to trade off distance for feel, as the new Gold golf ball is our best performing Pinnacle ever. The only choice a golfer needs to make is which colour to play,” he added.

The new Pinnacle Gold and Gold Ribbon golf balls feature a large, high-velocity, soft compression core, a soft, ionomer cover blend and a new 332 spherical icosahedral dimple design in seven different sizes.

Acushnet Sale Completed

The sale of Acushnet from Fortune Brands to a consortium led by Fila Korea Ltd., and Mirae Asset Private Equity was completed on Friday. The sale was first announced on May 20.

Acushnet, which includes brands such as Titleist and FootJoy, reported sales of over $1.2-billion in 2010.

 
“The Fila Korea and Mirae Asset Private Equity group understands and appreciates our golf industry leadership, passionate associates, and enduring culture,” said Wally Uihlein,  chairman and CEO of Acushnet.  

“Together, with our new owners, our team is looking forward to strengthening and building upon the global success of the Titleist and FootJoy brands,” he added.

Acushnet will remain as a stand-alone company through separate operation from Fila Korea, with its worldwide headquarters remaining in Fairhaven, Mass.  

 
The new ownership group includes Fila Korea, Ltd., the owner of the Fila brand globally, Mirae Asset Private Equity, the largest private equity firm in Korea and the National Pension Service of Korea, the fourth largest pension fund in the world.  

The Korea Development Bank, Korea’s largest government-owned bank, is also providing financing for the acquisition.

“We are excited and proud to be part of the storied history of successful growth and evolution of Titleist and FootJoy, two revered and world-class brands,” said Gene Yoon, chairman and CEO of Fila Korea, Ltd.  

“We are impressed by the decades of accomplishments achieved by the management team at Acushnet and fully support its continued focus on the core golf expertise at which they excel,” he added.  

“We look forward to growing the brands around the globe, especially with the opportunities in the emerging markets in Asia.”

Fila Part Of Group That Will Purchase Acushnet

Acushnet Company has announced that its parent company, Fortune Brands, Inc., has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of the company to a group led by Fila Korea, Ltd., the owner of the Fila brand globally, and Mirae Asset Private Equity, a private equity firm in Korea.

The deal is said to be worth $1.23-billion.

“The Acushnet Company has long been the trusted steward of two of golf’s most revered and iconic brands and has perpetuated the longest running records of golf equipment success in the game,” said Wally Uihlein, chairman and chief executive officer of Acushnet.

“The Fila Korea and Mirae group understands and appreciates our golf industry leadership, passionate associates and unique and enduring culture. Together, with our new owners, our team is looking forward to strengthening and building upon the global success of the Titleist and FootJoy brands.”

After the acquisition, Acushnet will remain as a stand-alone company through separate operation from Fila Korea, with its worldwide headquarters remaining in Fairhaven, Mass., and led by Uihlein and Acushnet’s current management team.
 
“We appreciate what Fortune Brands has contributed to the growth of our business over the last 35 years,” said Uihlein. “The support, encouragement and guidance they provided helped fuel our leadership position in the industry and marketplace. Together, we achieved record-setting milestones.”

Established in Italy in 1911, Fila is asport and leisure footwear and apparel brand that is distributed worldwide. The group, led by Fila Korea and Mirae, also includes the National Pension Service of Korea, the fourth largest pension fund in the world and Korea Development Bank, Korea’s largest government-owned bank.

“The acquisition of Acushnet transforms our platform with a stable of premier world class brands,” said Gene Yoon, chairman and chief executive officer of Fila Korea, Ltd.

 “We are equally excited to embrace Acushnet’s exceptional management team led by Wally Uihlein. With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunities for growth in the emerging markets in Asia,” he added.

J.H. Ryu, CEO of Mirae Asset Private Equity, echoed those thoughts.

“We are very impressed with what Acushnet management and employees have accomplished so far,” said Ryu. “We will fully support the company to remain focused on its core golf expertise and continue driving the growth of the industry.”
Uihlein added that will continue to grow in emerging golf markets. “Titleist and FootJoy are powerful global golf brands,” said Uihlein.

“The fact that Asia Pacific represents over 30 per cent of the world’s total golf equipment spending and that South Korean golfers are among the most passionate and organized in the game, is testament to the significant investment in the Acushnet Company by the Fila Korea and Mirae group,” he said.

“They recognize the strength of the brands and opportunities for growth particularly in golf’s emerging regions,” added Uihlein.

The sale is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and the transaction is expected to close this summer.

Patent Dispute Isn’t Over Yet

Callaway says it will appeal a decision reached in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware that ruled in favour of Acushnet in a long-running patent dispute between the two companies. That decision was reported by GNN here.

“We are disappointed with the court’s decision, especially in light of our victory in the first trial and Acushnet’s admitted infringement of our patents,” said company spokesman Tim Buckman.

“We will appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,” he added.

Has Patent Dispute Come To An End?

Acushnet’s long-running patent dispute with Callaway Golf may have reached an end after five years.

Acushnet has announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware had provided its final judgement in its favour and has denied Callaway’s request for a new trial. Callaway has claimed that the Titleist Pro V1 golf ball infringed on four Callaway patents.

“Today’s positive ruling substantiates what our contention has been throughout this process, that the patents in question were invalid and should never have been issued,” said Joe Nauman, executive vice president, corporate and legal for Acushnet.

“We had confidence that, once we had the opportunity to present all the evidence and, as we continued to receive favourable rulings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), we would prevail,” he added.

“The confirmation by the U.S. District Court is another significant step in finalizing this case,” said Nauman.

Callaway has the option of appealing the case to the Federal Circuit Court.

Acushnet Ponders Its Future

The board of directors of Fortune Brands has approved in principle the separation of its three businesses, including the Acushnet Company with golf brands such as Titleist and FootJoy.

The plan would result in the continuation of Fortune Brands as an independent, publicly-traded company and the sale or tax-free spinoff of Achushnet, with its $1.2-billion in annual sales.

“The strength of the Acushnet Company as the undisputed global leader in the golf category and confidence in our growth prospects were factors contributing to the board’s decision,” said Acushnet chief executive officer Wally Uihlein. 

“Whether the Acushnet Company is sold to a new owner or becomes an independent, publicly-traded company, our focus will be to keep on doing what’s made us the leader in our industry – the delivery of best-in-class products and service to our customers and golf consumers,” he added.

Fortune Brands acquired Acushnet in 1976 and Acushnet brought FootJoy under its umbrella in 1985.

 “Throughout the history of both brands – and the products and people that are the essence of the brands – there have been any number of challenges and new opportunities and there have always been shareholders that the business has been accountable to,” said Uihlein.

”We have a strong history of rising to those challenges and taking advantage of those opportunities, while fulfilling our commitment to our shareholders,” he added.

“With our industry leadership, our strong and unique culture and our talented team, we look forward to a successful transition to new ownership and building the bridge to the next chapter in Acushnet Company’s accomplished history,” said Uihlein.

The Fortune Brand’s board has directed management to develop detailed separation plans for consideration and final approval.  Fortune Brands expects to complete development of these plans – including the structure, timing and other related matters for each business – within the next several months.

Hale’s Happy Place, Mind Games And Other Notes

Hale Irwin, who will play in the inaugural Montreal Championship in July, was in no way referring Tiger Woods, but what he had to say last week offered a delightful contrast to those of us who are weary of the scandal.

The three-time U.S. Open winner played in his 1,000th PGA Tour / Champions Tour event last weekend in Tampa, but before he did that, he talked about the upcoming Champions Tour event in Montreal and touched on longevity and the role of family in a player’s career.

Irwin, with his 65th birthday on the horizon, said golf was part of an overall lifestyle and the standard by which you live your life will be reflected in the way you play golf.

With a record 45 wins on the Champions Tour and 20 wins on the PGA Tour, the World Golf Hall of Fame member apparently led a good life overall if you go by that theory. Read more

Puma Sharpens Its Edge With Cobra

The sale of Cobra from Acushnet to Puma that was announced Wednesday is one of those cases that sends folks in the golf industry full circle as it did with Canadians such as Ted Fletcher and Bob Cote, who will once again be handling a hard goods brand that they were involved with back in the 1990s.

Both have since landed with Puma, a brand that seems to be setting itself up in a similar business model as other hard goods/shoes/apparel companies such as Nike and TaylorMade-adidas.

The fact that it has young, vibrant tour players such as Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas, winner of last week’s Honda Classic, representing its products doesn’t hurt matters either, both now and in the future, as Puma develops its new diversified company. Read more

Cobra Sold To Puma

Acushnet has signed an agreement for the sale of Cobra Golf to Puma AG in a deal that includes inventory, intellectual property and endorsement contract.

Terms of the deal were not announced and the deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Acushnet has also agreed to continue to provide services such as production, distribution, field sales and customer service to an agreed-upon time period to help with a seamless transition.

“With the sale of Cobra, we have the opportunity to devote all of our resources to the global growth of our industry-leading Titleist and FootJoy brands,” said Wally Uihlein, Acushnet’s chairman and chief executive officer.

“At the same time, Cobra is a strong brand with a heritage of innovation, and we wish the quality associates guiding the brand future success,” added Uihlein.

“Golfers and our valued partners will remain the key focus throughout the impending sale and we are confident that our customers will continue to be serviced to our high standards,” he said.

Pending regulatory approval, the date of the sale of Cobra Golf is expected to come early in the second quarter. All business will continue to be conducted by Acushnet until that time.

All Acushnet Company associates dedicated to the Cobra business are expected to become employees of Puma.

“Titleist and FootJoy are powerful golf brands that are poised for long-term growth,” said Uihlein.

“This laser focus and our long-standing commitment to deliver superior performance and quality will strengthen golfers’ trust in the Titleist and FootJoy brands in all global markets.”