Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. is buying France’s Skis Rossignol SA for $312 million after first expressing interest in the family-owned ski maker late last year.
The deal stands to boost Quiksilver’s yearly sales from $1.3 billion now to nearly $2 billion and turn the surfwear company into the largest maker of skis.
Quiksilver plans to use the Rossignol name on clothes as well as skiing and other mountain gear.
The company stands to gain a big local operation in the deal: Ski Rossignol’s Roger Cleveland Golf unit, which recently moved from Cypress to a newly built 130,000-square-foot headquarters in Huntington Beach.
Cleveland Golf counts about 275 Orange County workers.
Quiksilver is buying Ski Rossignol in two stages. First, it plans to buy a 49.5% voting stake from the Boix-Vives family. Then it will make an offer for the rest of Rossignol.
The Boix-Vives family owns 45% of Rossignol and 63% percent of its voting rights.
Laurent Boix-Vives, chairman of Rossignol, is set to have a “key advisory role” with Quiksilver and Cleveland Golf.
The Boix-Vives family plans to hold a 35% stake in Cleveland Golf for at least four and a half years, according to the companies.
Quiksilver is paying more for Rossignol because of the weak dollar. Some observers wondered whether Quiksilver is overpaying for the company, offering a 40% premium above Rossignol’s share price before speculation rallied its stock.
Shares of Quiksilver ended Tuesday down more than 10%.
The surfwear maker is betting its distribution and marketing muscle can help Rossignol. The French company said it expects a “heavy loss” for the year ending March 31, due to restructuring charges, the weak dollar and a weak winter sports season.
Rossignol plans to cut about 135 jobs as part of its restructuring effort.
Competition among makers of ski clothes and gear is fierce, including from China. Many of the sector’s newer products have come from smaller players.
The move is part of an ongoing expansion by Quiksilver, which expects the buy to add to profits this year. The company is best known as a maker of surfwear,casual clothes inspired by Orange County’s beach culture.
In recent years, Quiksilver has moved into clothes for skateboarding, golf, and, most notably, girls and young women.
The move helped Quiksilver recently surpass the $1 billion in yearly sales mark, the first for a surfwear maker.
