Ashworth Inc., the Carlsbad-based maker of golf apparel, said Oct. 13 it entered into a definitive agreement to sell the company for $72.8 million to Taylor Made-Adidas Golf, a unit of German-based Adidas Group that’s also based in Carlsbad.
The offer includes a $1.90 per share cash offer plus the assumption of $46.3 million in debt as of July 31. The tender offer was a 9.8 percent premium over Ashworth’s Oct. 10 closing price of $1.73.
Through the acquisition, Taylor Made-Adidas Golf will increase its product line, improve its distribution platform and extend its marketing presence, Taylor Made-Adidas said.
Ashworth said in its last quarterly report it was seeking a buyer after several years of declining sales and management upheaval. For its first nine months ended July 31, its revenues were $137.5 million, down from $147.6 million for the like period of 2007. Taylor Made-Adidas said it had sales last year of 804 million euros or more than $1 billion.
, Mike Allen
