Analysts and investors in Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. breathed a sigh of relief Friday as the clothing maker said the sale of its struggling Rossignol ski unit is set to close early next month, even if the company is getting a lot less in the deal.
Quiksilver now is set to sell Rossignol for $52 million, down from $130 million when the deal was struck in August.
The deal calls for Quiksilver to keep selling Rossignol clothes through winter, which should bring in $6.5 million to $13 million in additional sales.
Quiksilver could continue to license the Rossignol name for clothes beyond winter, the company said.
Shares of the maker of clothes inspired by surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding jumped on the news Friday as Wall Street welcomed word of the sale’s progression, regardless of price.
Quiksilver shares were up about 5% near the close of trading with a market value of about $330 million.
“In this time of unprecedented challenge in the global credit markets, price concessions were required to achieve a final sale of Rossignol,” Chief Executive Bob McKnight said in a statement.
Rossignol, a French maker of skis, snowboards and related gear, has been a drag on Quiksilver since it was bought for $560 million in 2005.
Two months ago, Quiksilver said it had struck a deal with a former Rossignol executive to buy the business.
The financial crisis that started a few weeks later cast doubt on the deal’s prospects, driving a 70% drop in Quiksilver’s stock since September, according to Caris & Co. analyst Claire Gallacher.
Some investors feared the buyer, Chartreuse & Mont Blanc, and its financial backers wouldn’t be able to pull the deal off.
“This announcement allays concerns that it might not get done due to the challenging global credit markets,” said analyst Mitch Kummetz of Robert W. Baird & Co.
Now a deal has financing in place and just needs European labor union input and other usual closing conditions, Quiksilver said.
The company didn’t offer details on the buyer’s financing.
Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd. is the majority owner of Chartreuse & Mont Blanc, which is headed by former Rossignol chief executive Bruno Cercley.
Jarden Corp., a Rye, N.Y., maker of outdoor products, is a minority investor in Chartreuse & Mont Blanc.
Quiksilver still faces challenges.
The company said it expects a larger charge from the deal because of the lowered price.
Quiksilver said it is working with Morgan Stanley to look at raising money, including from existing lenders, through a stock sale or a possible private equity investment.
For more on this story, see the Nov. 3 edition of the Business Journal.
