Richard Branson is preparing to buy the Professional Kiteboard Riders Association (PKRA).
The Virgin mogul, a passionate and avid kiteboarder, has bought the rights to the PKRA World Tour in an unusual joint-venture agreement with the Spanish entrepreneur behind Zed.
Best Kiteboarding has denied any involvement in the deal.
According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, the deal is sealed, and a new umbrella company will start controlling the PKRA World Tour at the end of August when the Tarifa Pro Kite Tour 2014 runs in Spain.
Richard Branson is absolutely into kiteboarding. The 64-year-old businessman discovered the sport in the 21st century, but he rapidly helped to boost its growth with a series of spectacular events and moves.
He rode with naked models; he set Guinness World Records; he crossed the English Channel; he organized kite events on his Necker Island; and he lobbied for kiteboarding in the Olympic Games.
Now, he's taking one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities in the world to the center stage of action sports.
The Professional Kiteboard Riders Association manages and runs the official world kiteboarding tour, as sanctioned by the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA), but it was not the first structure to control it.
The Kiteboard Pro World Tour (KPWT) was the inaugural world tour circuit, but it was replaced in 2009 by the PKRA.
Richard Branson faces many challenges.
Improving the competitive feel of the events, solidifying the kiteboarding classes, improving media coverage, broadcasting events online, and increasing the prize money at each venue, are only a few goals that lie ahead.
The kiteboarding revolution is out there. Let the kites fly high.