MBK sells Japan's Accordia Golf to Fortress
MBK Partners has agreed to sell Japan-based golf course operator Accordia Golf, which it acquired in 2017 via a tender offer, to Fortress Investment Group.
The size of the deal was not disclosed, but local media reported it was around JPY400 billion ($3.5 billion). The transaction includes Accordia and Next Golf Management, a driving range business acquired from Orix Corporation in 2019. Orix took a 5% stake in Accordia as part of that transaction.
Accordia said in a statement that it would collaborate with Fortress’ hotel investment platform to drive business growth. “As in the past, we will continue to expand the scale of the group by actively acquiring golf courses and driving ranges,” it added.
Accordia was created by Goldman Sachs in 2002 following the acquisition of various golf assets from Nitto Kogyo, a local real estate developer that had filed for bankruptcy protection. It completed a string of bolt-on acquisitions and listed the business in 2006. Goldman completed its exit in 2011.
MBK privatized the business at a valuation of JPY102.5 billion six years later. At the time, most of the golf courses Accordia managed were held in a Singapore-listed trust. It owned 28.85% of the trust and 49% of the trustee-manager. Accordia bought the trust outright in 2020 for S$804.1 million ($577 million).
The company currently operates 169 golf courses and 27 driving ranges, receiving more than 10 million customers every year. It has approximately 11,600 employees. Accordia’s portfolio includes Narita Golf Club and the Narashino Country Club, the only courses in Japan that host US PGA tour events.
Accordia is not MBK’s only golf asset. In 2018, it bought Golfzon County, Korea’s largest golf course operator with seven public courses. Parent company Golfzon is best known for developing a golf simulator available in 6,200 locations across 62 countries.
Fortress, which has approximately $53.9 billion in assets under management, is controlled by SoftBank Group. It has invested more than $100 billion in real estate and real estate companies globally since 2002. Assets include MyStays Hotel Management, which owns or operates 159 hotels in Japan.
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