Accordia Plunges on Goldman Sachs’s Plan to Sell Stake

Accordia Golf Co. plunged the most in more than three years after it said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to sell its stake in the golf course operator.

Accordia fell as much as 13 percent, the most since May 15, 2007, to 68,400 yen and traded at 72,200 yen as of 10:49 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The shares have slid 24 percent over the past year.

A Goldman Sachs investment unit will sell 470,587 shares in Accordia, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement yesterday. Japan’s golf-course industry has been in decline since an asset bubble burst two decades ago causing membership prices to slump through four recessions.

The 45 percent stake is worth about 37 billion yen ($445 million) based on yesterday’s closing price of 79,900 yen. Goldman Sachs, which made its first investment in Japan’s golf industry in 2002, owned 131 courses as of Dec. 31 according to its website.

Accordia’s stock has declined more than 60 percent since Goldman Sachs took the company public in 2006.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s investment banking unit and Goldman Sachs will underwrite the share sale, according to the statement. They will sell the shares to investors in Japan, Asia and Europe, and decide the price as early as Jan. 17.

To contact the reporter on this story: Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo at thyuga@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Lagerkranser at lagerkranser@bloomberg.ney