The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has agreed to the terms of Quiksilver’s $175 million financing deal with Oaktree Capital and Bank of America, according to a post on Just-Style.
“We are pleased to have court approval of the final DIP financing allowing our reorganisation to proceed on track as well as an additional $10m to pay pre-petition claims for critical vendors, said Pierre Agnes, CEO of Quiksilver. “We will continue to work in close cooperation with the Creditors Committee to execute our financial and operational restructuring, which is designed to restore the company to long-term financial health. We look forward to emerging from the Chapter 11 process, a stronger company better positioned to prosper into the future.”
Wonder what will be so different this time around (aside from getting out from under a bunch of debt and having a new load of cash)? We’ll all have to wait and see.
Bloomberg Business is reporting today that an investment banker who is reportedly working with Quiksilver (Durc Savini) “testified” that “at some point” Oaktree Capital Management “may” merge Billabong and Quiksilver in an effort to dig Quik out of the financial hole it is currently wallowing in.
Savini added that he never directly approached Oaktree about a transaction with Billabong and that he doesn’t believe Billabong “has the balance sheet to support” such a deal. Oaktree owns about 20 percent of Australia-based Billabong.
The story also mentioned another item reportedly in The New York Post that claimed “a Quiksilver-Billabong combination was being considered.” Guess the media just get to make stuff up and then we can link to it like it’s news.
Arnette Eyewear has apparently shut down their world headquarters in Encinitas, California and laid off the employees that worked there, according to a story in the San Deigo Reader.
The general manager, Fab, said the brand is owned by Oakley, the global line of action sports apparel and equipment. He assumes the product line will continue through Oakley’s world headquarters in Foothill Ranch in Orange County. But he’s not sure about the plans for the future of the Arnette brand.
Looking at the upside, we guess this means we can park in Arnette’s lot while getting Ironsmith Coffee without having to worry about getting towed.
Today is the official launch day of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 and from the word on the street things aren’t going well. The above video is a collection of glitches that occurred during game play today, and according to a post on Forbes.com there is a huge update coming.
Yesterday it was revealed that a day one update for the game will be 7.7GB. Hefty, but not unheard of, I suppose. But the difference here is that the original file size of the game is only 4.6GB. It’s unclear why exactly more than half of the game’s data is being saved for a patch, but reportedly it was playable, even without it. Still, it’s more than a little bizarre.
As they said on Destructoid, maybe we should wait until all this gets sorted out. One thing is for sure — there is a reason that no early release copies were sent out and it’s probably because all the fixes weren’t completed yet.
After nine years and 35 print issues the Massachusetts based Steez Magazine has announced today (September 18, 2015) that they will be going 100% digital rolling forward.
A lot has changed over the course of 35 issues and many of us are onto other projects and ventures and this move will afford us the time needed for those. The Steez Magazine website will continue to thrive with the latest in influential culture and we’ll keep on hosting events and releasing new apparel on a more regular basis. Someday we will print again on our own terms as always.
No surprise there. For the official word from Steez, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
This Wednesday night (September 16, 2015) Group Y is presenting their inaugural Session Series. They’re calling it an “intimate one-on-one exclusive networking event that brings founders and creators from today’s leading brands to discuss their experiences, challenges and insights to accelerating business growth.” And first up is the affable, talented, and savvy Bob Hurley.
For Bob Hurley, it all started with the desire to make a better surfboard. Working closely with the best up-and-coming surfers in Huntington Beach and world champions like Rabbit Bartholomew, the Hurley label quickly became synonymous with the best high-performance shortboards on offer. Combining youth energy with a relentless drive to make surfing better, Bob seamlessly ventured into the apparel business, growing Billabong USA in the ’80s and ’90s to $100M before starting his own brand — Hurley — in 1999. For Bob, Hurley was more than an apparel company — it was an innovative, inclusive hub for every young creative mind with an affinity for the ocean. After partnering with Nike in 2002, Bob continues his mission of making Hurley the world’s most forward-thinking surf brand and a global Microphone for Youth.
It’s not as good as hanging out on the floor in the corner of Bob’s office, but these days it’s probably as close as we’re going to get. For more info and to register (it only costs $30) click the link.
Silverton, Colorado’s homegrown, “craft” snowboard company Venture sent out some bummer news for fans of the company. Thanks to a rough couple years, owner Klem and Lisa Branner have decided to not deliver any boards for 2015-16 season. Here’s what they said:
Circumstances beyond our control have forced us to make a tough decision. We will not be delivering any boards to market for the 2015-16 winter season. . . To our friends, colleagues, collaborators and all you Venture riders and supporters, we are deeply sorry. We sincerely apologize for any impacts this may have on you or your business.
They’re not ruling out getting running again, but aren’t sure. As one industry head told us yesterday, “The snowboarding industry is pretty weird right now.” We wish the Branner’s the best. For the complete letter, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Quiksilver is reportedly in a last ditch effort to find someone to buy them and bail them out the hole they’ve found themselves in for the past three years, according to a story on BloombergBusiness.
Quiksilver has been holding discussions with potential strategic bidders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t public. The goal is a management-led buyout, ideally outside of a bankruptcy, that would let the company retain its stores, two of the people said.
News of the discussions sent the stock rocketing up 7.9% to a whopping 45 cents at the close! The most interesting aspect to some of our readers may be that the lead company mentioned as Quik’s savior is Jamie Salter’s (remarkably successful) zombie brand holding company Authentic Brands Group. Yep, Quiksilver would likely fit in quite nicely with Airwalk, Vision Streetwear, and Sansabelt.
Yes, there are still a lot of great people and brands (750 of them) who attend the Agenda Show. If you are one of them then please be reminded that the show is in T-minus two weeks. The show runs July 8-9, 2015 from 9 AM to 6 PM at the Long Beach Convention Center. For more info (and to pre-register) please click the link.
Jake Burton with Jack Mitrani, John Jackson, and Gabi Viteri at the 2013 SIA Show.
After weeks of rumors and speculation surrounding the health of Burton Snowboards founder Jake Burton Carpenter, Burton PR has finally today (June 24, 2015) released an official health update. It’s good news considering what Jake and his family have been through over the past two months.
Right after the 2015 Burton US Open in March, Jake Burton, Founder & Chairman of Burton Snowboards, was diagnosed with a type of Guillan-Barre Syndrome called Miller Fisher Syndrome. Miller Fisher is an extremely rare disorder that results in the body’s own immune system attacking the nerves. Jake had a very severe case that caused temporary paralysis of his entire body, so he was put on full life support in the ICU for nearly two months at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire.
He is now out of the hospital and making progress toward full and complete recovery. For the official word from Burton, please follow the jump.
The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has agreed to the terms of Quiksilver’s $175 million financing deal with Oaktree Capital and Bank of America, according to a post on Just-Style.
