American surfing brand Quiksilver acquired its Australian competitor Billabong after it had tabled a bit late last year. The Australian company has been in financial turmoil for a while and both have now reached an agreement.
Huge debt
Quiksilver’s owner, Boardriders, will officially acquire Billabong for 1 Australian dollar per share, which is about 125 to 130 million euro in total. Compared to its value in 2007 (3.8 billion Australian dollars – 2.5 billion euro), that is a mere fraction. It is a mere quarter of a TPG Capital Management bid in 2012.
The company went downhill since then and the Australian surfing brand also amassed a huge debt. In order to lower that debt and to safeguard the brand’s future, the shareholders decided to sell to Quiksilver according to De Tijd.
Oaktree Capital
Oaktree Capital fully owns Quiksilver and already owned 19 % of Billabong as well. For a very cheap fee, it will now own two of the world’s largest surfing brands and will hope to cut costs as well.
Quiksilver went bankrupt several years ago and that was when Oaktree Capital acquired it and merged it into Boardriders alongside similar brands like Roxy and DC Shoes. With Billabong, it will now add another famous brand.
