Vijay Singh wins the Arnold Palmer invitational with Cleveland clubs in March
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Cleveland Golf, the brand endorsed by Vijay Singh and David Howell and many other top Tour pros, has been bought by SRI Sports Ltd., owners of
Srixon, for a reported US$132.5million.
Quicksilver Inc. which bought Cleveland from Rossignol in 2005, announced that the sale is part of a company wide move to reduce their presence in the hardgoods business.
The move by SRI Sports, a Japanese company and parent of the Srixon brand of clubs and balls endorsed by Jim Furyk and Henrik Stenson among others, has come as a surprise to many golf business-watchers but was welcomed by Greg Hopkins, President of Cleveland Golf.
"We are excited by the many positive aspects of this deal, including the combination of a great brand in golf with a new organisation that is completely and solely devoted to the sport. We believe that this singular focus will benefit the entire Cleveland organisation in a number of ways."
Commented Ryochi Sawada, chairman of SRI Sports: "Cleveland has a clear position of dominance in the important wedge market and a fast-growing presence in drivers and irons. We believe that this business will prove highly complementary to our own. We are looking forward to demonstrating Cleveland's full potential to the market and believe that the business can benefit greatly from our stewardship."
