Providence Equity Partners said it reached an agreement to sell the Ironman triathlon series of races to Chinese real estate and entertainment giant Dalian Wanda Group for about $650 million plus the assumption of debt. The deal reportedly has a value of about $900 million and represents a quadrupling of Providence’s investment in World Triathlon Corp., owner of the Ironman brand and races.
After acquiring WTC in 2008, Providence transformed it from a licenser of the Ironman brand to an owner and operator of races. The number of races it owns and operates has grown exponentially since 2008, to more than 200. During that time the WTC workforce exploded to about 250 from barely 10.
The deal for the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) comes after Wanda bought a stake in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid and spent more than a billion euros on Swiss sports marketing group Infront. Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin — a multi-billionaire and one of China’s richest men, according to Forbes — has built his firm into a property giant but has been diversifying into sports and entertainment in recent years.
“As China enters the ranks of middle income countries, people are paying increasing attention to physical fitness and spiritual fulfilment, and triathlon’s unique charm and challenge is set to attract a large number of people,” the company said.
WTC currently is headquartered in Tampa, Fla., and Wanda said it operates at least 250 events a year, describing it as “the world’s largest operator of Ironman events.”
