Chadbourne Represented Fortune Brands in $1.225 Billion Sale of Titleist Golf

Chadbourne & Parke represented Fortune Brands, Inc. in the $1.225 billion sale of its Acushnet Company subsidiary, which manufactures and distributes Titleist golf balls and clubs and FootJoy golf shoes and gloves.

The sale, which closed on July 29, was to a group led by Fila Korea Ltd., the owner of the Fila sporting goods brand globally, and Mirae Asset Private Equity, the largest private equity firm in Korea.
Working on the deal for Chadbourne were partners Edward Smith, Charles Hord and William Cavanagh, and associates Ted Castell, Alison Kronstadt, Nicholas Scannavino and Tae Sang Yoo.
The purchase price is $1.225 billion in cash. Fortune Brands estimated it will realize net proceeds of approximately $1.1 billion after taxes and expenses. Fortune Brands has announced a tender offer for $1 billion of its public debt using proceeds from the Titleist sale. Chadbourne is also representing Fortune Brands in the debt tender. Working on the debt tender are Edward Smith, Charles Hord, Kessar Nashant and Patrick Narvarez.
Acushnet is the leading and most profitable golf equipment company in the world. Titleist is the #1 ball in golf and a leader in high-performance golf clubs. FootJoy is the #1 shoe and glove in golf and a leader in performance outerwear. Net sales exceeded $1.2 billion in 2010, with nearly half of revenues generated in markets outside the United States. The purchasing 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.
Fortune Brands initiated a sale process for Acushnet after announcing in December that it proposed to separate its businesses following a strategic review process conducted by the board of directors and management.