Taylor Made Acquires Adams Golf For $70 Million

For Immediate Release...

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company to acquire Adams Golf

Herzogenaurach and Carlsbad, Calif. (March 19, 2012) – The adidas Group and Adams Golf, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADGF) today announced that the TaylorMade-adidas Golf business segment has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Adams Golf for $10.80 per share in cash. The transaction value is approximately $ 70 million (approximately € 53 million), which represents a premium of approximately 71% to the share price prior to Adams Golf’s announcement that it was examining strategic alternatives on January 4, 2012.

Through the acquisition of Adams Golf, TaylorMade-adidas Golf reinforces its position as the world’s number one player in golf. The addition of Adams Golf enables TaylorMade-adidas Golf to broaden its product range and to extend its presence across a wider array of golfers.

“This acquisition reflects our commitment to continued growth in the golf category,” said adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer. “The proposed combination of Adams Golf and TaylorMade-adidas Golf brings together two highly complementary sets of brands, combining Adams' focus on game-improvement as well as senior and women golfers with TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s focus on the younger and the low-to-mid handicap golfer.”

“We are very excited to team up with Adams Golf, whose management team we have respected for many years,” commented Mark King, President and CEO of TaylorMade-adidas Golf. “Our mission is to be the best golf company in the world across all geographies, products and customer demographics, and adding Adams Golf is another important step in achieving that goal.”

"This merger provides strong opportunities for our employees, suppliers and partners,” said Barney Adams, Interim CEO of Adams Golf. “The Adams Golf brand will fit nicely into TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s stable of brands, and together we will be able to increase our reach and better serve our customers by leveraging a wider set of resources. We are also excited that TaylorMade-adidas Golf has decided to maintain Adams Golf’s headquarters in Plano, Texas.”

The Board of Directors of Adams Golf has unanimously approved the transaction. Certain insiders, who include John M. Gregory, Joseph R. Gregory, SJ Strategic Investments LLC, B.H. (Barney) Adams, Russell L. Fleischer, Mark R. Mulvoy and Robert D. Rogers, collectively own approximately 35% of Adams Golf’s outstanding shares and have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction. The adidas Group plans to finance the acquisition with cash on hand or through existing credit lines. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals as well as approval by Adams Golf shareholders. The transaction is expected to close mid-2012.

Cliffs Sold; Husband-Wife Duo Vows To Finish The Non-Tiger Woods Course

David Dykes introduces us to Steve and Penny Carlile of Marshall, Texas, proud new owners of The Cliffs, who plan to move forward with a Gary Player-designed course. Thanks to reader Scott for this.

Methinks the wife helped with the decision everyone wants to know about: whether Tiger's "under construction" design will be started finished.

However, the new owners — Steve and Penny Carlile of the Carlile Group in Marshall, Texas — said the fate of a Tiger Woods-designed course east of Asheville remains uncertain. Its future will be evaluated after an in-depth study to determine the best approach, Steve Carlile said.

The Carliles and Timothy P. Cherry, The Cliffs chief financial officer, told GreenvilleOnline.com this morning they anticipate filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy action for The Cliffs Club & Hospitality Group Inc., a wholly owned Cliffs’ subsidiary, known as ClubCo, that owns the golf courses and related amenities.

Coachella: "Today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course."

Probably a coincidence as the rebooted Bob Hope becomes the Humana Challenge, but USA Today's Mike Perrault and Keith Matheny focus on the Coachella Valley in writing that the "unbreakable linkage between golf and real estate" has been broken.

In the nine cities of the Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, where multiple presidents, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra swung the clubs and lived in golf-centric resorts, today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course.

"We're entering a new normal," said Pete Halter, chairman of The Halter Companies, an Atlanta firm that advises developers. "We can't think this will be over soon. Things have changed for good."

Among the forces reshaping the relationship between golf and real estate:

•Fewer people play golf, and Baby Boomers don't have the time, money or interest in the game their parents did. The number of golfers in the U.S. has fallen by 13% in the past five years, according to National Golf Foundation statistics. The number of golf rounds played nationwide last year through November was down 3.5% from the previous year, according to the foundation.

Something to note for clubs looking to adjust to the times...

Resort communities are already beginning to offer fewer golf courses, and high-priced courses designed by top golfers or famous architects will become rarer, Goodkin said. Allowing non-residents onto club courses and letting them pay by the round will become more prevalent as a way to control costs within golf communities, he said.

"There will be a lot more focus on soft amenities — education, fitness and health programs — not just playing golf four or five times per week," he said. "Things where there isn't a lot of physical equipment, land and high maintenance associated with it."