ClubCorp Sells After All: For $1.1 Billion To Apollo Global

Reuters' Greg Roumeliotis reports that the publicly-traded company owning 206 clubs and serving over 400,000 members, including at Mission Hills and Firestone, has sold to Apollo Global Management.

It's an all-cash, $1.1 billion deal netting shareholders $17.12 a share, a 31% premium over Friday's closing price. 

DallasNews.com's business writer Paul O'Donnell noted this:

Sunday's announcement comes about three months after ClubCorp's board said it would not seek a sale. Longtime CEO Eric Affeldt announced at the same time that he would be retiring. A month later, the company added two new directors at the behest of activist investor FrontFour Capital Group LLC, which had been critical of ClubCorp's management.

Comments

[Tom Morris]

206 Clubs - now would that be like the Hilton chain of Hotels which promote their brand as being the same no matter where you are in the world? If so, good move to sell them off!

The greatest assets we have in our game is our courses - just wish they would reflect themselves more as golf course than country parks, because Golf Courses require that hint of wild nature much missed in these modern enlighten (apparently) times.

By the way who do you think actually got the best deal?

[MJR]

I would be interested in what the PE squeeze will feel like for those members. Yikes

[Long Ball]

I'll tell you who didn't get the better of the deal: Club Corp members!

MJR has it right. The inevitable PE squeeze will will feel like Cartman's first episode encounter with aliens in South Park's Season One.

[PAS]

Considering ClubCorp was owned by private equity (KSL Capital) for close to a decade before the PE firm took it public as their exit strategy in late 2013, I think ClubCorp's members already have a pretty good idea of what the PE squeeze will feel like.

[TLB]

Club Corp has been spending heavily on improvements at it's various clubs. At the same time its having an all out membership drive, offering discounted initiation fees and monthly dues. Don't think the later is covering the former at this time. My CC has a lot of new members, but that hasn't made up nearly for the number of members leaving. Total number of SCGA (GHIN) members is only 403, when at its peak was just under 600. Golf is a hard sell these days. It'll be interesting to see what Apollo's approach will be.

[DeviledDetails]

Membership numbers would be interesting.

Waiting list to get out, vs incoming member number.

There is potential, and a lot of work to do