So let’s say your brand is under pressure. Your stock is at the lowest point it’s ever been. The “sharks are circling” and a private equity firm has been low-balling offers since they noticed your were in trouble. What do you do? If you’re Billabong founder and largest shareholder, Gordon Merchant, you buy more stock, according to a story in The Australian.
In a substantial shareholders notice lodged late on Friday, Mr Merchant declared he had bought 2.52 million shares in the surf, ski and skate wear brand at an average price of $3.13 each, lifting his stake from 15.1 per cent to 15.8 per cent.
Hey, if your fortune is already down $240 million what else can you do? Billabong has to come back around right?
“I feel so good now!” Burrow said. “I had a really good event last year, but came up short in the Final against Kelly (Slater). Then today when I found myself against Adriano (De Souza), I was really nervous because he got me in a Final in Brazil last year. He’s really tough and I don’t like competing against him to be honest. There was a lot of weight on my shoulders in that Final so it’s pretty rewarding to come out on top.”
For Stephanie Gilmore it was a return to form after last season’s rough start.
“To be carried up the beach with your friends underneath you with thousands of people around has got to be one of the best feelings in the world,” Gilmore said. “It took me back to 2005 when I won here as a grom. Last year went so quickly and it felt like I didn’t even exist on the rankings and that fire wasn’t really there. This year it’s so good to have that back! My cheeks are so sore from smiling already.”
Leap day (February 29, 2012) signals the end to the waiting period for the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau. Aside from the breath of relief likely heard around the Quiksilver Board of Diectors table we’re bummed we didn’t get to see things get massive at Waimea Bay.
“As much as we’d like to see this dedication run every year, the event is committed to meeting the criteria of 20 feet,” said contest director George Downing. . . “Those special winters of Eddie-sized waves seem to only come around every three to five years, so a season like this is to be expected. . . “On behalf of the Aikau family, we sincerely thank this year’s Invitees, Alternates, Quiksilver and the organizing team who remained dedicated and enthusiastic throughout the holding period. We would also like to thank the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the City & County of Honolulu for their special efforts to make this an enjoyable event for all.”
Guess we’ll just have to wait until next year and let Greg Long hang onto that 2009-10 title for one more year. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Spy announced today that they’ve added surfer/shaper Ryan Burch and surfer Jared Mell as “multidimensional surf-sojourning brand ambassadors” for the eyewear company’s new Crosstown Collection.
“Ryan and Jared are super talented and respected at the creative forefront of contemporary surf culture, and they also have classic vibes in what they do that really resonate with what’s happening with SPY now,” says Devon Howard, SPY Marketing Director. “Ryan is a craftsman with a penchant for innovation, tempered by a deep reverence of classic surfing style applied to his board designs inspired by shaping pioneers like Bob Simmons and Carl Ekstrom. With Jared, his approach to nose riding and what he does with his clothing line at Insight are similarly progressive, hedged with deep roots. We’re really stoked to have these guys rounding-out an already stellar team of incredibly creative surfers backing Crosstown.”
The Crosstown Collection is billed as a “limited-edition line of vintage-inspired, handcrafted sunglasses” which sounds like a great market for Spy to paddle into. For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
With the swell beginning to fade at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast the real news of day three was who didn’t make it into Round 4. The short version is this: Matty Wilkinson, Kieren Perrow, Kolohe Andino, Bede Durbidge, Jeremy Flores, Freddie P, Yadin Nicol, Mick Fanning, Raoni Monterio, Adam Melling, 2 John Florence, and Travis Logie.
Oh, and Julian Wilson slayed it. Here’s what he said after logging the day’s high score:
“I lost in this round last year in a close one against Taj (Burrow) and went on to lose a bit early in the next few events so I was nervous before that one,” Wilson said. “I did want to make a statement. In my first two heats I wasn’t myself – it didn’t feel like it was coming together for me. Then in that heat I felt a lot better, felt solid on my board and good to get some high scores.”
For the official word and results from both the Quik and Roxy Pro follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Just when we thought no one would even get close to 40-year-old Kelly Slater’s ridiculous 18.80 score that he reeled in in 10 minutes during his Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 1Heat 6 match up against Garrett Parkes and Kolohe Andino, along comes 2 John Florence in the final heat of the day to lay down a 19.60 against Damien Hobgood and Tiago Pires.
“Last night was my first time surfing at Snapper, it’s an amazing wave!” Florence said. “I knew there was some good ones out there, I was out at this time last night and I got a couple. I so happy right now, I was stoked to just get those two waves, but to win the heat with some good scores is even better. I’m having a lot of fun.”
As for there rest of the day we had these thoughts: No matter what is coming out of Dane Reynold’s head, the truth is he loves surfing contests once he gets in the water. He charged it against Adam Melling and Joel Parkinson but got stuff in the final minutes of their Round 1 Heat 5 match up. Dane will get another chance in Round 2 Heat 2 when he faces off against Taj Burrow. Jordy Smith is looking lean and mean, Owen Wright got off to a rough start but pulled it. But it’s all going to sort out in the next three rounds.
For the official word from the ASP and full mens and women’s’ Roxy Pro results follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The Roxy Pro Snapper Rocks is goes live on day one of the waiting period. The men’s Quiksilver Pro is on standby currently. There really isn’t one heat to miss on the women’s side. Courtney Conlogue is currently in the water with Malia Manuel and Silvana Lima in Heat 1.
“The swell has filled in this morning and there are some good waves coming through from behind the rock,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said. “It’s about three-to-four foot with cross-shore winds and we expect conditions to improve throughout the day as the tide drops. Women’s Round 1 will start at 7:30am with Round 1 and the opening round of men’s competition on standby.”
Follow the jump for the Round 1 match ups and the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
The crew at Chasing Monsters captured the last big Mavericks swell with some of the most amazingly super-slow motion footage we’ve seen in a while. And having Skindog as a guide only makes it better.
Private equity firm TPG Capital’s offer for Billabong is outrageously low compared to previous fashion label buyouts according to a story in Businessweek.
Excluding extraordinary items, analysts now estimate Billabong will earn A$64.5 million in the year ending June 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. TPG’s offer is worth almost 12 times that forecast, compared with the median bid of 24 times profit for takeovers of apparel makers greater than $500 million in the U.S., western Europe, and developed markets in the Asia-Pacific region, the data show.
In other words, TPG is offering half the average multiple for Billabong. In its analysis Businessweek questions what exactly TPG knows about the company that would cause it to make such a low offer. Are things that much worse than they appear? Or is TPG just out trolling for bargains?
For an in-depth look at the continuing Billabong situation, click the link and read the story. Or check out the Sydney Morning Herald’s piece A Tragedy of Errors.
Thanks to the severe financial trouble Billabong has been wallowing in lately the company has decided to cut their J-Bay prize money and drop the event from the World Championship Tour to an ASP 6-Star event.
“The change in event status follows a broader review in which we are seeking to identify cost savings throughout the business.” Billabong said in a statement. “By retaining an event at Jeffreys Bay, it now provides two qualifying events back to back in the South African region. The move to an ASP 6-Star also opens the event up to South Africa’s aspiring pro surfers for the first time in 20 years and ensures continuity of the event for the local businesses in Jeffreys Bay.”
Sure, that’s nice and all, but the truth is the ASP World Championship Tour is now down to 10 events. Billabong, however, still has their Rio, Teahupoo, and Pipeline events on the calendar. For the official word from the ASP, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
So let’s say your brand is under pressure. Your stock is at the lowest point it’s ever been. The “sharks are circling” and a private equity firm has been low-balling offers since they noticed your were in trouble. What do you do? If you’re Billabong founder and largest shareholder, Gordon Merchant, you buy more stock, according to a story in The Australian.
