Norwegian Cruise Line owner buying ClubCorp

DALLAS — ClubCorp Holdings, an owner and operator of more than 200 golf, business and sports clubs, agreed Sunday to be bought by a private equity firm for $1.1 billion in an all-cash transaction.

ClubCorp owns the Pyramid Club at 1735 Market St., Philadelphia; the North Hills Country Club in Montgomery County; Hartefeld National in Chester County; and Cherry Valley Country Club in Skillman, N.J.

"Locally, I'm excited about it," said Rick Winland, general manager of the Pyramid Club after a conference call Monday with ClubCorp executives and general managers.

Apollo Global Management, which will pay $17.12 a share in cash or a nearly 31 percent premium on ClubCorp's Friday closing price of $13.10, also has Diamond Resorts and Norwegian Cruise Lines as part of its $197 billion portfolio of companies. "For us, that potentially means a really good synergistic relationship that would give our members access to those benefits as well as discounted rates and fees," Winland said.

Great Wolf Lodge in the Pocono Mountains is a Diamond Resort.

"Currently, our members, based on partnerships that the company has, will get weekly 'member exclusives,' they call it, where members have discounted access to cruises, trips, vacation spots," Winland said. A permanent relationship with a Diamond Resort would give Pyramid Club's 1,064 members access at a fee "considerably less," he said.

Under pressure from an activist investor and a short seller since last year, ClubCorp's board of directors hired Jefferies and Wells Fargo & Co. to evaluate strategic alternatives that would "enhance shareholder value." The board said it discussed a wide range of possible transactions with "a wide array" of suitors.

"This transaction represents the culmination of our review of strategic alternatives and achieves our goal of enhancing value for shareholders," board chairman John Beckert said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. ClubCorp, which now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MYCC, will become a privately held company once the sale is completed.

ClubCorp gained $3.95, or 3.95 percent, to $17.05. Apollo rose 57 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $26.91.

Sunday's announcement comes about three months after ClubCorp's board said it would not seek a sale. Longtime CEO Eric Affeldt announced at the same time that he would retire. A month later, the company added two new directors at the behest of activist investor FrontFour Capital Group L.L.C., which had been critical of ClubCorp's management.

As interest in golf wanes in the U.S., ClubCorp has worked to reposition its country clubs and other properties to appeal more to families by improving the dining rooms and offering more fitness-related activities.

At the end of 2016, ClubCorp owned or operated 206 clubs serving 430,000 members. The company, founded in 1957, was owned by a private equity firm from 2006 to 2013, when it went public.

Inquirer staff writer Linda Loyd contributed to this article.