🔊How This Golf Brand Sold For $200M In 7 Years

📰 TOP STORY
L. Catterton Acquires $200M Majority Stake In L.A.B. Golf

This week, it was announced that L. Catterton, a consumer-focused private equity firm backed by luxury giant LVMH, has acquired a majority stake in L.A.B. Golf, a company known for its unconventional yet innovative putters, for $200 million.

L.A.B. Golf was founded in 2018 by Sam Hahn, who acquired the assets of the nearly bankrupt Directed Force company, formerly known as such.

The company's core technology, Lie Angle Balance, aims to eliminate torque and maintain a square putter face throughout the putting stroke.

Bill Presse, the inventor of L.A.B. technology, initially developed it to simplify his own putting stroke and address frustration with face-balanced putters.

What’s most interesting about all of this is that though L.A.B Golf has gained visibility from golfers such as Adam Scott, Lucas Glover, and Will Zalatoris, it spent nearly a decade as an unrecognized brand in the sports equipment space.

So, how did we get here?

Let’s dive in 👇

In June, millions watched J.J. Spaun sink a 64-foot putt to win the U.S. Open at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

But the biggest winner from that putt wasn’t J.J.

It was L.A.B. Golf.

J.J. Spaun happened to be using one of the company's torque putters.

This led to a significant increase in sales, social media engagement, and brand awareness.

Before that, L.A.B. Golf didn’t have any paid endorsements or major private backing.

Since its founding, the company has been bootstrapped and solely focused on customer feedback and product improvement.

The Wall Street Journal reported that L.A.B sold 130,000 units in 2024.

Now, as a result of that putt, they’re on track to triple units sold year over year.

With a $200 million outcome, this very much looks like a success story, but anytime private equity comes into the mix, there are mixed reactions.

Many customers took to social media and Reddit to express their thoughts and concerns about the acquisition.

Nonetheless, Hahn has expressed that the entire management team is staying on and L Catteron is simply looking to provide financial backing to help the company grow, develop new and more customized products, and more.

With serious capital now in the mix, L.A.B. Golf has the chance to evolve from a garage-born cult favorite to a mainstream contender in golf equipment.

But the big question remains: Can it scale without losing the authenticity that made it resonate with golf purists in the first place?

💰 MERGERS & MONEY MOVES 
Professional Triathletes Organization Closes Series C Funding Round

• PTO Raises $40M. The Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO) has closed a $40 million Series C round led by SURJ Sports Investments, the sports arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Founding investor Sir Michael Moritz, Cordillera Investment Partners, and Verance Capital also participated in this round. SURJ supposedly invested approximately $20 million to make its first move into the triathlon market. The investment will fuel PTO’s global expansion and mass participation strategy, including planned growth in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region (more here).

• Grass League Raises $2.75M. Grass League, a high-stakes, Par 3 golf league, recently raised a $2.75 million Seed-plus round from investors including Creator Sports Capital and Old Tom Capital. The capital will be used to boost growth and expansion, enhance live events, expand in-house content capabilities, and invest in sales and strategic partnerships. The league, which has only been around since 2023, has already attracted many notable athletes, including former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel and tennis player Mardy Fish (more here).

• FOX Acquires Stakes In Penske Entertainment. Fox Corp has purchased a third of Penske Entertainment, the owner of the IndyCar series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and IMS Productions, as reported this week by WSJ. According to sources, the transaction was believed to be valued between $125 million and $135 million. The deal also comes with a multi-year extension of what was already a three-year exclusive media rights deal between Fox Sports and IndyCar, set to expire at the end of the 2027 season (more here).

• Next3 Acquires Stake In SailGP US Team. Next3, an investment firm backed by the Tisch family, which also co-owns the New York Giants, has invested in the SailGP US team. Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund is the lead investor for the team, and other investors include Gary Vaynerchuk, Issa Rae, Deontay Wilder, DeAndre Hopkins, and Jozy Altidore. Carolyn Tisch Blodgett leads Next 3, and the firm has also invested in the NWSL’s Gotham FC, TMRW Sports, TGL’s LA Golf Club, and LOVB. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (more here).

• Betsperts Acquires Fantasy National Golf Club. Betsperts, a leading sports betting and fantasy sports content platform, announced its acquisition of Fantasy National Golf Club from SportsHub Games Network. Fantasy National Golf Club is a leading resource in the golf analytics space, offering in-depth tools and insights for fantasy sports participants and golf bettors. The deal will see Fantasy National integrated into the Betsperts Golf platform, enhancing its data analytics, tools, and community offerings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (more here).

• Garmin Acquires MYLAPS. Garmin, a US-based GPS and fitness tracking company, announced the acquisition of MYLAPS, a Dutch provider of timing, tracking, and performance analysis tools for sports competitions. MYLAPS specializes in technology solutions for running, cycling, motorsports, and equine competitions. The company employs over 200 full-time associates globally with operations across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Leading Athlete Investment Firm Expands To India

• APEX & Baseline Form Partnership. APEX Capital, a sports-focused investment firm backed by world-class athletes, and Baseline Ventures, a leader in sports, entertainment, and licensing representing some of India’s top athletes, have announced a strategic alliance to expand investment opportunities in the global sports market. This partnership allows APEX’s venture portfolio to engage with India’s rapidly developing sports sector. Furthermore, APEX will actively pursue opportunities to invest in both new sports IP and established properties in the country (more here).

• PMG Partners & Genius Sports Form Partnership. Genius Sports and PMG, the agency behind campaigns for brands like Nike, TurboTax, Best Western, and Beats by Dre, are teaming up to deliver smarter, data-driven sports advertising. PMG will integrate FANHub by Genius Sports, a fan activation platform, into its media and technology stack. The partnership combines PMG’s advanced advertising technology with FANHub’s real-time sports data signals and advertising innovation to unlock smarter, more impactful ways to engage fans (more here).

• SURJ Sports Investment & LeeJam Sports Form Partnership. SURJ Sports Investment, and Leejam Sports Company, owner and operator of Saudi Arabia’s leading network of sports and fitness centers, “Fitness Time,” announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate growth and innovation across the Kingdom’s dynamic sports ecosystem, particularly in fitness and community engagement. A core pillar of the partnership includes data and technology collaboration, enabling both to share insights on performance metrics, gym technologies, and digital engagement tools, as well as co-development of short-form and live fitness content (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
Billionaire Buys Into UFL

• Mike Repole Joins UFL Ownerships Group. Mike Repole, who cofounded VitaminWater, Smartwater, and BodyArmor before selling them to Coca-Cola for more than $12 billion, has joined RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, ESPN, Dany Garcia, and Dwayne Johnson as owners of the UFL league. The initial changes he plans to make to the league reportedly include the relocation of half of the league, with Birmingham, Michigan, Houston, and Memphis franchises heading to new markets as well as eventually expanding to 16 teams by 2035 (more here).

• Star Athletes Invest In French Soccer Club Le Mans. F1 drivers Kevin Magnussen, Felipe Massa, and tennis legend Novak Djokovic have joined together to invest in French football club Le Mans FC. They also join Latin American sports investment firm OutField and Georgios Frangulis, the founder and CEO of OakBerry, as new financial backers in the club. The club, located in a small town in northwestern France, is set to compete in Ligue 2 from 2025–26. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (more here).

• The Most Powerful Sports Agents In 2025. Forbes releases the top 20 most powerful sports agents this year, with MLB agent Scott Boras leading the way. The top 20 agents, each set to collect at least $32 million in maximum commissions across the life of the playing contracts they have negotiated, together manage more than $32 billion in active deals. The list also includes four agents from CAA and four from Wasserman, which came in second in the agency ranking (more here).

• Sportradar Launches Bettor Sense. Sportradar recently launched an AI-powered tool called ‘Bettor Sense’ to help operators support responsible gambling. It features a ‘personalized, proactive,’ and ‘data-driven approach to user protection’ as it can detect early signs of gambling-related risk and enables personalized interventions. Bettor Sense has been created with proprietary technology and aims to promote responsible gambling, and is described as being fully compliant with regulatory standards (more here).

• Burnley FC & Rezzil Launch First-Ever VR Matchday Broadcast. Premier League team Burnley FC is offering its fans a virtual reality viewing experience, which means they can enjoy being at the club's Turf Moor stadium from the comfort of their home. Through their partnership with VR sports training company Rezzil, they bring a 'first-of-its-kind' immersive broadcast of Burnley's pre-season friendly on Aug 9th against Italian club Lazio. Fans who acquire special headsets will be able to take a virtual seat inside the stadium, complete with match day commentary and in-stadium audio (more here).

🎙️ PODCAST INTERVIEWS
From Pro Hooper To Sports Investor With Keaton Nankivil, Senior Principal At Alumni Ventures

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Keaton Nankivil.

Keaton Nankivil is a Senior Principal at Alumni Ventures, a network-powered venture capital firm that provides accredited investors with a smart, simple way to own professionally managed venture portfolios.

He focuses on sports technology and media investments. Before becoming an investor, Keaton played several years of professional basketball overseas.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ His transition from professional basketball to sports investing
‣ What he looks for in sports tech startups and the future of the space
‣ Advice for founders looking to raise and for athletes looking to invest

Check out the full episode here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube