NORTON, Mass. – If Wednesday’s media meet-and-greet was any indication, it turns out Acushnet Company’s new boss is not that much different from the old boss.
Some of the questions that stemmed from the May purchase of Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist, FootJoy and Pinnacle, were answered during a media event at the Bay Club, about 25 minutes south of this week’s PGA Tour stop at TPC Boston.
According to original reports, the sale to Fila Korea Ltd. and Mirae Asset, a private equity firm, would not bring dramatic change to the company, and on Wednesday Fila Korea chairman and CEO Gene Yoon confirmed to reporters that the company’s headquarters will stay in Fairhaven, Mass., and that the current management team, including CEO Wally Uihlein, will remain in place.
“We were impressed with the team’s thorough and extensive understanding of the golf industry,” said Yoon, who described himself as a “passionate golfer” and surprised the crowd with a quick, dry wit. “It will be business as usual. . . . There is no possibility we can move out of the production facility and the headquarters.”
Uihlein said the purchase, which was reported at $1.225 billion by numerous media outlets, has the potential to dramatically change Acushnet’s business in Korea and possibly the rest of Asia.
“We’ve had 20 to 25 percent growth in Korea over the last few years,” said Uihlein, who joined Acushnet in 1976. “From a golf point of view it’s got everything in place.”
