Wanda Sports Group announced the sale of Ironman to Advance, a New York based investment company known for owning media and entertainment companies like Condé Nast and Stage Entertainment.
One of the interesting things about the sale was occurring during the middle of the pandemic. The original sale price of $730 Million was announced in March, however reading the actual SEC filing, it is less clear what the actual value of the sale was:
“Net proceeds are expected to be in the range of US$380 million (which reflects deductions for existing indebtedness and transaction expenses, as well as the Company’s expectations as to the ultimate outcome of an ongoing post-closing purchase price adjustment process). The Company used a portion of the net proceeds to repay the principal amount of US$240 million and related interest and fees outstanding under its existing 364-day facility, and intends to imminently use a portion of the net proceeds to repay US$50 million outstanding under a promissory note issued to Wanda Sports & Media.”SEC 6K Filing – https://investor.wsg.cn/node/7081/html
On one hand, it looks like the value is $380 Million. On the other hand, given that the company had debt to repay of $240 – $290 Million, it could be argued it was of less value.
Wanda bought Ironman for $650 Million in 2015. Wanda also had bought Competitor Group and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in 2017 for an undisclosed sum, although Calera Capital had acquired Competitor Group in 2012 for $250 Million.
So a total of $900 Million of original capital had been put into the companies.
No matter which valuation is used for this sale, it shows not only the valuation pressure put on the endurance community from the pandemic, but also the difficulty in creating value in this market. The good news is that there are new owners of Ironman, and this iconic brand and company will continue on.