David Shapiro is a co-founder of KPS Capital, a three-decade old private equity firm that manages in excess of $14 billion with a focus on acquiring and improving manufacturing-based businesses. TaylorMade is one of the leading manufacturers of golf equipment, and a familiar brand to golfers and fans of the game.
Our conversation covers the history of TaylorMade, desired spin-off of the business from Adidas, prolonged and broken deal process, and KPS’ winning the deal. We then turn to the steps KPS took to improve the business across its supply chain, product cycle, and marketing, and its decision to sell the business in 2021 after a complete turnaround.
Show Notes
04:58 KPS business
09:11 TaylorMade’s story
14:17 Attractiveness of Adidas spin-off
16:27 Due diligence process
19:03 Identifying TaylorMade’s core challenges
25:41 TaylorMade’s financials
26:55 Pricing the deal
28:32 The last one standing
30:23 Applying manufacturing expertise
33:38 Elongating the new product cycle
34:34 Driving market share growth
41:10 Impact of changes on performance
43:02 Decision to sell
45:13 Maximizing value in sale process
47:11 Closing questions
