Australia-based Billabong International Ltd. said it plans to sell its surf apparel retailer Swell.com in Irvine to a consortium of investors in a spinoff that also includes a 51% sale of SurfStitch, its other e-commerce business.
Billabong said it will receive about $32.4 million from the two transactions.
Justin Cameron and Lex Pedersen, founders of Australia-based SurfStitch, were among investors identified as buyers in both deals.
Billabong makes clothes, shoes and accessories under its namesake brand and several others, including RVCA and Element in Costa Mesa and Irvine-based VonZipper. It also has a retail business.
“In recent months we have begun the process of taking over the branded websites previously outsourced to SurfStitch,” Billabong Chef Executive Neil Fiske said in a statement. “With these agreements we can accelerate our investment in the online presence and digital marketing of brands such as Billabong, RVCA and Element, which will engage our core consumers and in turn benefit the wider business. We believe there is an enormous untapped opportunity here for the company.”
Billabong, which is traded on the Australian Securities Exchange, has a market value of about $282.5 million.
