The Surf Ranch Has New Owners And The WSL Might Be Next
The WSL just sold Kelly Slater Wave Company and is now exploring investment, or even a sale, of its own.
Shall we commence with a brief timeline of the Kelly Slater Wave Company Surf Ranch?
In 2015, the first waves from Lemoore suddenly appeared on the backlit rectangles we all carry around in our pockets.
In 2016, the WSL took a majority stake in the Kelly Slater Wave Company.
In 2017, the first professional surf competition was held there. It was called the Future Classic, and featured Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Carissa Moore, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo, among others. The WSL tried to keep the whole thing secret, but Stab rented a cherry picker to peer over the closed gates and nearly got two of our writers arrested.
By 2018, the first CT in a wavepool, the Freshwater Pro, was held in Lemoore. It was not open to the public. By then, nobody seemed to care enough to rent a cherry picker.
From 2019 to 2025, the royal and the wealthy got kinda-semi-sorta barreled courtesy of Raimana van Bastolaer, while others won surf competitions that, apparently, weren’t your favorite.
In 2024, the world’s second KSWC pool opened in Abu Dhabi, with the first CT event there following in 2025.
Now, in 2026, the company has new owners.
“KSWC has recently been sold by its previous ownership group, WSL Holdings, to an LA-based real estate fund in partnership with Kelly Slater,” said a WSL spokesperson. “This transaction positions KSWC to continue advancing its technology and wave systems, which remain a global benchmark for artificial wave innovation. KSWC and the WSL have been operating independently from each other for over a year, and the sale does not impact the WSL’s business or operations.”
So then, who’s got the keys now?
The LA-based real estate firm appears to be Global Mutual Properties Limited, which boasts more than 600 investments across 10 countries, with $5 billion in assets under management. These include a rural English hotel where you can enjoy a cucumber highball for £12.50, a retail promenade in Santa Monica where you can acquire a healing crystal and a fresh pair of Adidas kicks in the same haul, and a storage facility in Crestview, Florida, where a 10’ x 15’ unit will ding you $60 a month (reasonable).
A wavepool tucked into California farmland fits right in.
But there’s more to this story. Our League spokesperson continued:
“The WSL is coming off its best year ever and recently kicked off its 50th anniversary season. We have received a significant amount of inbound interest and have decided to explore strategic alternatives to accelerate the next phase of growth. At the same time, we remain focused on providing an incredible platform for our athletes, fans, and partners.”
A few lines in that paragraph echo a recent article from Sportico, a media outlet focused on the business of sports.
On its homepage, right between a story about Formula One Group’s Q1 revenue rising 59% and another about the year-on-year increase in WNBA franchise valuations, sat a story about the League fishing around for a potential sale.
The gist? M&A (mergers and acquisitions) advisors known as the Raine Group are spearheading early-stage talks regarding a possible sale of the League. The Sportico story reads:
“Possible WSL investment could come from media companies, existing sports organizations, private equity firms or wealthy individuals. Raine Group has emerged as one of the prominent M&A advisors in global sports, previously working with Manchester United, Chelsea, the PGA Tour and UFC, among other entities, on sales and investment processes.”
If you like numbers, the story also says the following:
“WSL boasts 80 million annual viewers across linear and digital platforms and 1.3 billion consumers on social media, with both of those numbers up roughly 40% year-over-year. The league has told potential investors that its average fan is 38 years old and that 77% of its Instagram followers don’t follow other major sports leagues.”
Do you have some spare cash and a clever plan to monetize all that attention? Contact the Raine Group here.
Otherwise, stay tuned for the Corona Cero New Zealand Pro — the waiting period commences on May 15.
Let’s hope a goofyfooter wins.
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