By
Matt Jarzemsky

March 21, 2017 4:52 p.m. ET
1 COMMENTS

Providence Equity Partners LLC agreed to sell scuba certifier Professional Association of Diving Instructors to a group of wealthy families and endowments for more than $700 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The consortium includes philanthropists who were drawn to PADI’s efforts to promote oceanic conservation as well as its business, people familiar with the deal said. They purchased the company through an entity dubbed Mandarinfish Holding, named for a Pacific Ocean-dwelling fish whose vivid orange, blue and green colors make it a favorite of some divers, the people added.
Orange County, Calif.-based PADI is the world’s largest diving membership and training organization, having issued more than 25 million certifications, according to its website. Scuba equipment salesman John Cronin and swimming and diving instructor Ralph Erickson founded it from their homes in the Chicago suburbs in 1966, offering membership …