* KKR working with Moelis and Morgan Stanley on potential

$3 billion sale, sources say

* Recent membership club M&A includes KSL's deal for

Invited Clubs and Soho House take private

* Bay Club now has more than 150,000 members and 35

locations across California, Washington, Oregon

By Abigail Summerville

May 15 - Investment firm KKR & Co ( KKR ) is exploring

a sale of The Bay Club Company, an operator of West Coast

membership clubs with amenities from pickleball courts to spa

services, in a deal that could fetch around $3 billion,

according to four sources familiar with the matter.

KKR is working with investment banks Moelis and Morgan

Stanley for the sale process, which is at an early stage, the

sources said, requesting anonymity because the matter is

confidential.

​​​​​​​​​KKR and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Moelis

and The Bay Club did not immediately respond to requests for

comments.

A deal would add to a wave of membership club transactions over

the past year. In April, private equity firm KSL Capital

Partners signed a deal to buy Invited Clubs, an operator of golf

and membership clubs, from Apollo Global Management ( APO ) for

around $3 billion, Reuters previously reported.

Last year, private equity firm Bain ​Capital acquired golf and

country ⁠club operator Concert Golf, and high-end club operator

​Soho House was taken private for $2.7 billion by a group led

​by MCR ⁠Hotels that included actor Ashton Kutcher and Apollo.

Founded in 1977 in San Francisco with one location, the Bay

Club now operates over 35 locations across California,

Washington and Oregon, offering amenities including tennis

courts, golf courses, pools, fitness classes, after school

programs for children and on-site restaurants.

When KKR bought the company in 2018, it had over 50,000

members - a figure that has now grown to over 150,000 with

monthly dues ranging from $100 to $445 following an initiation

fee.