(Bloomberg) — Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. refuted an earlier report that it was exploring selling its golf equipment arm, saying it was not aware of any talks to sell the company.
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Shares closed up 8.8%, down from a previous high of 15%, the biggest intraday jump since May 2022. Chosun Daily had reported that a South Korean investor was among those interested in the takeover – after the company was spun off from Topgolf. The buyers are looking to acquire Callaway Golf's business in a potential deal worth about $3 billion, the news outlet reported, citing sources in the investment banking industry.
Topgolf Callaway said in a statement that it decided to respond to the report due in part to “unusual market activity.”
The golf industry has struggled to hold on to the sport's pandemic surge. Three years ago, Callaway Golf Co. closed. Its acquisition of the remainder of Topgolf Entertainment Group that it did not already own in a deal that valued the driving range chain at approximately $2 billion. Before Wednesday, the California-based company had seen its stock price split in half after the March 2021 close.
However, the uncertainty has done little to deter some investors. Seoul-based Centroid Investment Partners — which owns TaylorMade, the company with which Tiger Woods collaborates on a clothing line — said in February it was raising $500 million in financing for a new U.S. acquisition.
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