“22 golf courses, plus a booking platform...” The Siena to acquire Golfzon County for 1.8 trillion won [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] The Siena Group, which has recently emerged as a major player in the leisure industry, is acquiring Golfzon County, South Korea’s largest integrated golf course operator. The deal will give it the assets and operating network of 22 golf courses nationwide, as well as an online booking platform. Taking over the business MBK Partners built through additional golf course acquisitions and leased operations, The Siena Group will expand its nationwide golf course business base.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 28th, The Siena Group and a consortium involving CL Asset Management signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with MBK Partners to acquire control of Golfzon County. The transaction is reportedly valued at around 1.8 trillion won.
As of the end of August this year, Golfzon County operated 22 golf courses with 478 holes nationwide. Of these, 333 holes are owned by Golfzon County and its affiliates, while the remaining 145 are leased from third parties and operated by the company. The business has grown by combining direct ownership of golf courses with leased operations.
The key to the deal is the combination of golf course assets and operations. The Siena Group will gain in one move a nationwide operating network that would be difficult to build by purchasing golf courses individually. Alongside the asset value of its owned golf courses, the profitability of leased courses and the terms of their contracts will help determine business performance after the acquisition.
Earlier, MBK Partners led Golfzon County’s expansion from 2018 onward. It grew the number of golf courses the company operated from five to 22, building it into a nationwide operator. Revenue rose about 5.8-fold, from 49.1 billion won in 2017 to 285.2 billion won last year. Over the same period, operating profit increased about 6.7-fold, from 12.1 billion won to 81.1 billion won, outpacing revenue growth.
The online booking channel is also considered a key business asset. Golfzon County operates TeeScanner, a golf course booking app with around 1.9 million cumulative registered users as of last year. In effect, it has a booking channel that connects golf course operations with customer acquisition.
After the acquisition, a key challenge will be to improve profitability by linking bookings, marketing and operations across golf courses nationwide. The company will need to increase the value of its owned assets while also securing stable profits from its leased operations. With the scale of its operations expanding, the ability to manage profitability at each golf course is also expected to become more important.
For MBK Partners, the transaction represents the sale of control following an investment strategy that built scale by consolidating golf courses. MBK Partners owns 68.4% of Golfzon County’s common shares, while Golfzon Holdings owns 31.6%.
A senior official in the investment banking industry said, “The key to this acquisition lies in combining the assets with the operating network, rather than in the number of golf courses,” and assessed, “With the 333 holes it owns directly, the 145 leased holes it operates, and the booking platform, the company will have the foundation to link golf course business operations nationwide with customer acquisition.”
Meanwhile, The Siena Group, the new owner of Golfzon County, is a leisure and services company spanning hotels, resorts, golf courses and fashion. It operates The Siena Resort and Toscana Hotel in Jeju Province, as well as The Siena Country Club.
[email protected] Kim Gyeong-a Reporter