A sale of Irvine-based Billabong USA’s Australia-based parent is still on the table after a private equity firm submitted a revised bid to buy the apparel company.
Billabong International Ltd. said last week it’s considering a new offer from Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG Capital Partners LP to sell the company for $3 a share, or $825.3 million. Billabong, which trades on the Australian Stock Exchange, makes and sells clothes, shoes and accessories inspired by surfing and other action sports.
Company brands include Billabong, Element, RVCA and others. Billabong’s retail network includes 677 company-owned stores worldwide. TPG’s initial bid precluded any sell-offs of brand assets but was subsequently revised to allow Billabong’s pending sale of a 48.5% stake in Encinitas-based accessories brand Nixon Inc.
The planned sale of the Nixon stake to New York-based private equity firm Trilantic Capital Management LLC was announced two weeks ago and values Nixon at about $464 million. Billabong said it plans to use $285 million in net proceeds from the Nixon sale to pay down debt.
Nixon had $125 million in revenue last year, marking double-digit sales growth through the last half of 2011. RVCA, Sector 9 and Kustom were the only other Billabong brands to see such gains, as European debt woes and a tough retail environment challenged its wholesale and retail businesses.
Billabong made a push into retail with a number of acquisitions in recent years, including the $79 million purchase of the Canada-based West 49 Inc. mall chain in 2010. More recently Billabong has been trying to reduce its retail holdings with plans to close as many as 150 underperforming stores.
—Kari Hamanaka
