A report on CNBC, the financial news source, says that Morgan Stanley has sent out marketing materials and nondisclosure agreements related to the sale of Acushnet, the golf division of Fortune Brands. Among the potential buyers are Nike, Adidas, Callaway, Sumitomo Rubber (the parent company of Cleveland/Srixon) and Mizuno. CNBC added that Callaway would probably need help from a privaty equity firm if it wanted to make the purchase. The first round of bidding for the parent of Titleist and FootJoy should be completed by the end of this month. If Fortune Brands isn't happy with the bids, it could have an IPO-based spinoff of Acushnet. Acushnet earned $115 million before taxes in the first nine months of 2010, a whopping 85 percent over the same period in 2009. Some bankers told CNBC that it could bring about $1.3 billion, or nine times trailing operating earnings, in an outright sale.

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