jda

They were supposed to have taken over Raindance and maybe eventually Pelican Lakes? I guess that they did for six months?

Heard that Troon pulled out of Windsor. No idea if it is true. Anybody know anything?

Most likely because DF3 heads are already made there. I do find it telling that the milling/porting is already done, screws inserted and even the China copies say Made in the USA like the original. My guess is that these are where the mass produced unit that went to the nationwide stores came from... but I don't know anything, just a guess. I love that the blatant copies of IP theft do take the time to alter the fonts just a little bit when they have the capability make it match exactly, since they made the original. Is this just mocking the rest of us? For any of you wanting to manufacture in China, don't believe them when they say that your product is safe with them - it might be, but it might not be. Huge brands and maybe some with long-term relationships can stop the IP theft from happening, but it is really hard for small-time companies. If you see DF 2.1, MEZZ, OZ, etc. models being sold on Ali soon, then you know that those are being made there now too. EDIT: It is possible that L Catterton is large enough to stop this. I am always amazed at what is copied and sold and what is not - there is truly no rhyme or reason to it.

Got an anonymous message to look at other companies putter numbers (I know...). Seems that SC sells around 7,000 putters a month and Callaway reported just over $90m putter sales globally last year with Odyssey likely making up the bulk of this. There is no way that LAB is making 10,000 putters a month unless they are dumping them in the East River (or however the old saying goes), or outgrossing Odyssey. I am guessing 50-100 units for 22 working days... like 50 custom and 100 stock? Also not buying a increase in numbers since orders have not stopped and the horrible lead time has been constant, not increasing. They might have shipped 10K putters one month to a few nationwide chains. I might be able to believe this if they were all assembled with outside help. I still do not totally buy this.

You can get all kinds of quality out of China, or other places. The folks who assume that China is the reason that a product suffered are being too simple - the company has asked for the product to be made cheaper and it just happened to have been China that did it. Not all overseas stuff is garbage and China can make really nice things if you want them to. Conversely, there is garbage that comes out of Japan and Germany too. My only real issue dealing with China was IP theft - this is a huge problem that nearly nobody talks about. They would have made as high, or low, of quality as we wanted. Once the quality got high, China was not cheaper anymore.

I get it. Sold 3 companies. Unless it says cash or there is a FTC required disclosure down the road, then I just wanted people to not assume that LAB got paid $100+ million right now. They company can be valued in a multitude of ways and they are always jacked up to the press - if if Enron bought LAB, then mark-to-market would value them at least for 10 trillion, right? Again, our company valued at $5 after nationwide presence, 20% market share, 50% in-store adoption, and all of that. Pure fantasy. I hope that they got 100 million - I am a small business owner, so good for them if they did... the American Dream. I will never accept a gross-us calculation without confirmation. I am sure that you have seen too much tomfoolery to trust this. When deal details are hidden and "valuation" numbers given, it is always less... at least in my experience where investors want to brag about how good of a deal that they got, so they fluff up the value. I also understand exits. However, you cannot trust that the guys want to stick around and run things like they always have AND that they sold a controlling interest. Pure contradiction. I also think that this is likely a Soft Exit PE 101, but most on here will not want to believe this. WRX will want to think that the guys sold at the top of the market to some suckers who don't know better and will get to run things how they want forever. My guess at $20-25m is because I don't believe that they made 160,000 putters a year with that facility and staff (like maybe 1/10th this much), probably are full of debt since they could not expand themselves and could not get a loan or better deal and keep the business to themselves if they had orders for 400K putters at average $600 each which is $240,000,000 this year. Even 160K putters at $600 each is $94,000,000. Only a clown could not make a company work if all of this is true. Out of curiosity, what all that you have seen and heard, what do you believe and think that the cash outlay was?

Try some thrift shops, then the local marketplace. If he is only semi-serious, then any clubs will do. If he gets more serious, then spend some money. It seems like I see some 5-6 club junior sets quite often at Goodwill.

Also, a guess, but predict that all stock putters to be produced overseas now. Only custom stuff done in Oregon. I do expect to see some cross-branded stuff. Long overdue. If SC can sell out of French Laundry putters in a few seconds and Bettinardi can work with Thompson Machine Guns and Buffalo Trace (?) Whiskey, then why not? It is just smart. Moet & Chandon in a Pretty Cabinet on the bottom of a LAB putter called the Killer Queen? This would sell. Also need to get the Japanese market into this. Honma can sell $5k drivers there with platinum and real gold, so why not Louis Vuitton branded putter with real rubies and emeralds on the top.

Sold a company valued between 1.5 and 5B (yes, B) for less than $100m. Valuation and price are not the same thing and people can value a company however they want. Tech Crunch just published the number that the buyer told them, which was $5b, all the while telling us how the company was only valued at that number once they acquired it and we had their resources and support. Nobody is going to likely ever know how much the majority stake ever sold for. I find it amazing that people on here think that PE don't have access to the internet or are not smart. The whole idea that somebody sold at the top of the market indicates that the other side is too dumb to know that we are coming off a golf boom, other brands are building the same things now, etc. PE is not dumb. This is just a guess, but I would say about $20-25m changed hands for a majority stake. New company values at $200m with their expert help and assuming that everything goes perfect moving forward. Old owners see that they could make up to another $80-100m in a handful of years if the company takes off since they do own part of it still. For me, I just cannot get over that if earnings were SOOOOO good, then why could they not already buy a few more machines and hire a few more people - cash should have been flowing if all of these numbers are accurate. All of this seems fishy to me and like a company who needed to sell. The admittance that they have been looking for 2 years is kind of telling. Talked to a VC that invested in my companies who is a huge golfer and he said that if LAB had great numbers, they could have likely had an agreement in principle in 30 days and kept control. Also does not understand why they have not scaled already if they had so much revenue. He reminded me that nearly nobody wants to lose control of their company unless they just sell out completely and Steve Miller Band (take the money and run) - selling a majority stake is almost always a last resort.

What this guy understands that much of WRX does not is that you need a force to counteract to have touch and feel. He said it in a slightly different way, but it is basically the same thing. Torque is just one of the forces.

I cannot see the WSJ article without paying, but did it say that the company had a valuation of $200 million, or that $200m was paid for the stake? Another source said a $200m valuation.

It means that he is no longer in control, was likely reprimanded and also very likely required to remove the post or be in breech. Again, no positives here. It is very likely that he will never be allowed to communicate again with everything going through the social media managers of the new owners. There was likely a non-compete and non-disclosure that has a timeframe. You might get some details after these are expired, but maybe not since lawsuits for slander do not have expiration dates. There will be a coordinated "we are excited to announce" type of communication coning soon, or nothing. The "excited to announce" means nothing, but no announcement means even worse things. PLEASE listen to the folks who have been through this. It is a very tight script that PE follows and there is rarely a deviation.

Just make sure that he head does not feel like it is too heavy on the shorter shaft. You can remove the weights if you need to - they don't need to be in the head. You can also grind down or drill out materials to get a lighter weight. Other than this, if the kid likes it, then you are good. I know that the kid is only 8, but there are some slight concerns with using mallets when kids are learning. They often tend to use the alignment lines on the head instead of squaring the face. Please make sure, as he grows, that the face is square and not to use the lines on the head - this can lead to problems with the path and stuff. The face needs to be square to the line - this is the important part. We have tons of issues with HS kids who have non-consistent paths that have the clubhead follow their putting path which leads to them inconsistently striking the ball with the face open, closed or whatever. We make them practice with light mallets - like older Ansers or Zings where all that they have is the face and they get better almost instantly. Anyway, a long ways off for you, but might be good to know. Of course, if the path is perfect all of the time (like most pros), then none of this matters.

Not that this matters to us normal schleps on the interwebs, but why does anybody assume that LAB is/was doing well and has tons of orders and raking in cash? If this was true, then you don't need to sell a majority to anybody - you can just get a business loan, or sell PART of the company to a private investor or VC if they had a plan to make more money. VCs absolutely LOVE to invest in companies that are doing well to expand - they love it. You only go PE if you are in trouble. This is the most likely scenario, even if it is really sad to some fanboys. There is NO positive here. Sorry.

Nobody knows this. I would not assume. I hope that this is the case, but having been through this before, employees could be offered buyouts or shown the door, bank accounts frozen and orders suspended. If PE is wanting to try and keep the brand going, then they will announce that they are fulfilling all current orders - if they don't announce, then this is usually bad. PEs mostly gut companies so they don't care abut the reputation or customer base, so it is not all that bad to assume that this might happen if you have a few thousand on the line with them - you can always reorder when you figure out that everything is still going as it was. I would be super cautious too. It has ALWAYS been my experience that announcements are ready when the deal closes. It is strange that there is not one - my apologies if I missed one. If is Monday and a lot of deals get done on the Friday News Dump (late Friday), so maybe something is coming soon. EDIT: if dude above gets a refund, then this is a good sign. If refused, or any reason, then this is not good. I hope that a report is posted, either way.