Pumps and compressors manufacturer Ingersoll Rand Inc is nearing a deal to sell its golf cart business to private equity firm Platinum Equity LLC for around $1.7 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The deal will separate Ingersoll Rand from a business it acquired in 1995.
The deal would be a bet by Platinum Equity on a potential rebound in golf as a recreational sport in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shrunk revenues for the industry by an estimated 6% in 2020, according to a report by IBISWorld.
Ingersoll Rand sold a majority stake in its high pressure solutions business earlier this month to buyout firm American Industrial Partners for $300 million, reducing its exposure to the oil and gas exploration and production market.
Los Angeles-based Platinum Equity is run by billionaire founder Tom Gores. The firm says it has around $23 billion in assets under management and also owns U.S. basketball team the Detroit Pistons.
Source: Reuters
Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; editing by Diane Craft
