PADI, the world’s largest diver certification agency, has been sold to a group of wealthy families and investors for $700m USD according to the Wall Street Journal.
PADI was bought in 2015 by private equity firm Providence Equity from another private-equity firm Lincolnshire Management. Since then Providence has helped PADI expand in China and upgrade its e-commerce system.
According to Dow Jones the longer term future of PADI under new ownership might look brighter:
“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.”
PADI recently celebrated issuing their 25th million certification and have moved heavily into the Freediving market.