News

The President of PADI has published a strong statement that attempts to set the record straight on recent rumors concerning the dive training organization. 

Specifically, PADI President Drew Richardson refutes a recently published report on Medium. Citing “generally well-informed” sources, the article details talks to sell PADI to Montagu, a London-based equity firm. The sale price would be around $1.2 billion, according to the article. Montagu recently purchased Aqualung for approximately $200 million.

Richardson – deploying a Mark Twain quote – called such rumors lies. “There are no discussions anywhere at any level to sell or buy PADI,” writes Richardson. “The news on this is that there is no news.”

PADI was recently sold for more than $700 million to a group of wealthy families under the name Mandarinfish Holding. Are the latest rumors “hate-mongering” or meaningless “chitchat” as Richardson says, or a harbinger of a PADI-Aqualung merger in the making? Only time will tell.