来源：www.goo.gl/lpfEVM Providence Sells Scuba Cerifier PADI to Wealthy Families, Endowments By Matt Jarzemsky Providence Equity Partners LLC agreed to sell scuba certifier Professional Ass ociation of Diving Instructors to a group of wealthy families and endowments f or more than $700 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The consortium includes philanthropists who were drawn to PADI’s efforts to p romote oceanic conservation as well as its business, people familiar with the deal said. They purchased the company through an entity dubbed Mandarinfish Ho lding, named for a Pacific Ocean-dwelling fish whose vivid orange, blue and gr een colors make it a favorite of some divers, the people added. Orange County, Calif.-based PADI is the world’s largest diving membership and training organization, having issued more than 25 million certifications, acc ording to its website. Scuba equipment salesman John Cronin and swimming and d iving instructor Ralph Erickson founded it from their homes in the Chicago sub urbs in 1966, offering membership and course training materials to dive shops and resorts. Providence bought the company from private-equity firm Lincolnshire Management in 2015 and helped it expand in China and upgrade its e-commerce system. It t ripled its investment on the sale, according to a letter to its investors revi ewed by The Wall Street Journal. PADI’s new ownership reflects a shift in the investing landscape. Its buyers included so-called family offices, which manage the fortunes of the wealthy. T hese organizations have long invested with private-equity funds, but they’re increasingly cutting out the money managers and doing their own private-equity -style deals. By doing so, investors avoid paying private-equity firms fees fo r managing buyouts and have greater flexibility to hold businesses for many ye ars. Rhode Island-based Providence has invested in several companies related to spo rts, live entertainment and active pursuits. The firm last year sold sports-ma rketing companyLearfield Communications Inc. for a return of about 2.9 times i ts investment, the Journal reported. It sold Ironman Triathlon operator World Triathlon Corp. to China’s Dalian Wanda Group in 2015, quadrupling its invest ment. Deutsche Bank AG advised PADI on the deal, according to people familiar with t he matter. Write to Matt Jarzemsky at [email protected] 心得： PADI似乎被中国人收购了 而且是以七亿美金买下 PADI真的够成功 一个系统就让人花七亿 --

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