Rumours have been abound for quite some time but it appears that PADI has now found a new owner.
Providence Equity Partners is set to sell the business to a group of wealthy families and endowments, in a deal worth $700m, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Providence Equity acquired a majority stake in PADI in 2015 and helped expand the business into areas of Asia and China.
According to the PADI website, there are currently 6400 PADI Dive Centres and Resorts, serviced by 133,000 PADI Professionals who have issued more than 25 million certifications.
PADI was founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson and went on to be the largest scuba diving training agency in the world.
