PADI Sold for $700 Million

[emoreira]

Providence Plans $1 Billion Sale of Diving Group PADI

 

[kelemvor]

Providence Equity Sells Scuba Certifier PADI for $700 Million

I can't post in "Scuba Industry News" so, into basic scuba discussion this goes.

Providence Equity Partners LLC agreed to sell scuba certifier Professional Association of Diving Instructors to a group of wealthy families and endowments for more than $700 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

The consortium includes philanthropists who were drawn to PADI’s efforts to promote oceanic conservation as well as its business, people familiar with the deal said. They purchased the company through an entity dubbed Mandarinfish Holding, named for a Pacific Ocean-dwelling fish whose vivid orange, blue and green colors make it a favorite of some divers, the people added.

Orange County, Calif.-based PADI is the world’s largest diving membership and training organization, having issued more than 25 million certifications, according to its website. Scuba equipment salesman John Cronin and swimming and diving instructor Ralph Erickson founded it from their homes in the Chicago suburbs in 1966, offering membership and course training materials to dive shops and resorts.

Providence bought the company from private-equity firm Lincolnshire Management in 2015 and helped it expand in China and upgrade its e-commerce system. It tripled its investment on the sale, according to a letter to its investors reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

PADI’s new ownership reflects a shift in the investing landscape. Its buyers included so-called family offices, which manage the fortunes of the wealthy. These organizations have long invested with private-equity funds, but they’re increasingly cutting out the money managers and doing their own private-equity-style deals. By doing so, investors avoid paying private-equity firms fees for managing buyouts and have greater flexibility to hold businesses for many years.

Rhode Island-based Providence has invested in several companies related to sports, live entertainment and active pursuits. The firm last year sold sports-marketing company Learfield Communications Inc. for a return of about 2.9 times its investment, the Journal reported. It sold Ironman Triathlon operator World Triathlon Corp. to China’s Dalian Wanda Group in 2015, quadrupling its investment.

Deutsche Bank AG advised PADI on the deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

[Amysterious Cat]

Wow! that's surprisingly unexpected... I had to look it up and found this article.

"...PADI – the Professional Association of Dive Instructors – might be, sources have announced the shock revelation that it has been bought by Richard Branson’s Virgin group.

...Branson has acquired the dive training agency to complement Virgin Galactic, the project which he hopes will bring space tourism to the world.​

...it is expected that diver training programs will be restructured towards training that includes both sub-aqua and super-atmospheric concepts. The re-branded ‘Virgin Open Water Scubanaut’ program will provide basic training; the ‘Astronautical Open Water’ course will teach divers more advanced concepts such as ‘Peak Performance Weightlessness’, and the Navigation dive will be modified to include use of the stars along with the traditional compass." ---By W. T. Farquhar​

full article here:
PADI SOLD TO VIRGIN SHOCK - DIVE Magazine

I don't know if the article is true but it was published on divermagazine
But I wonder what this all means for the future of PADI and certifications? ?

 

[MelasLithos]

Wow! that's surprisingly unexpected... I had to look it up and found this article.

"...PADI – the Professional Association of Dive Instructors – might be, sources have announced the shock revelation that it has been bought by Richard Branson’s Virgin group.

...Branson has acquired the dive training agency to complement Virgin Galactic, the project which he hopes will bring space tourism to the world.​

...it is expected that diver training programs will be restructured towards training that includes both sub-aqua and super-atmospheric concepts. The re-branded ‘Virgin Open Water Scubanaut’ program will provide basic training; the ‘Astronautical Open Water’ course will teach divers more advanced concepts such as ‘Peak Performance Weightlessness’, and the Navigation dive will be modified to include use of the stars along with the traditional compass." ---By W. T. Farquhar​

full article here:
PADI SOLD TO VIRGIN SHOCK - DIVE Magazine

I don't know if the article is true but it was published on divermagazine
But I wonder what this all means for the future of PADI and certifications? ?

April's Fool? I can't find the publication date of this article, but the last sentence of it makes me think it was on April 1st 2017...

The situation remains unclear, however perhaps by 1 April 2018, we shall be further illuminated.

 

[diversteve]

Huh?

The first linked article is to Bloomberg Financial News - November 15, 2016, 1:30 PM MST is right under the headline.

The 2nd post is the Wall Street Journal article - March 23, 2017 discussing the agreement to purchase.

Hardly an Aprils Fools joke...

 

[RainPilot]

Huh?

The first linked article is to Bloomberg Financial News - November 15, 2016, 1:30 PM MST is right under the headline.

The 2nd post is the Wall Street Journal article - March 23, 2017 discussing the agreement to purchase.

Hardly an Aprils Fools joke...

Have a look again....
PADI SOLD TO VIRGIN SHOCK - DIVE Magazine

The last sentence is a giveaway, it is an April fool's joke but a good giggle nonetheless.

 

[Colliam7]

The last sentence is a giveaway, it is an April fool's joke but a good giggle nonetheless.

Exactly! The article is well-written satire (e.g. '‘It’s very important,’ said our source, ‘that divers learn to appreciate the deleterious effects of passing wind inside their drysuit. Not only can doing so potentially affect the overall buoyancy characteristics of the suit by increasing the internal gas volume of the equipment, unzipping your drysuit in the changing rooms of a dive centre afterwards is no laughing matter.'), but it is a joke. Yes, it links two actual reports about the sale, but beyond that it is humor. Perhaps, the author should have used the name 'Orson Welles' instead of WT Farquhar.

 

[RainPilot]

Ah man I totally missed the WTF author name.....

 

[Amysterious Cat]

I thought the article did sound far fetched and no way to verify it
And totally missed the April 1 2018 date
But hats off to the writer it is well written!

 

[mdb]

PADI keeps getting sold and resold since that they have the best cash flow stream in the dive biss.

April fools jokes aside-PADI is a cash machine for who ever is the current owner.