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In another twist in the Billabong buyout story, Paul Naude has announced that he is stepping aside from his roll as board member and president of Billabong US for six weeks as he seeks “talks with financiers and gain support for a bid proposal” to purchase the company himself in a leveraged buyout, according to story in Bloomberg Businessweek.

“Paul’s generally viewed quite favorably by the market, which makes this an interesting trade,” Nick Berry, a retail analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., said by telephone from Sydney. “If either a bid isn’t forthcoming or it gets knocked back it’s going to be very difficult for him to go back.”

A Naude led Billabong could be great for everyone, we wish him the best of luck. The market certainly seems to be happy about it as the stock is up 11 percent. Click here to read Jeff Harbaugh’s thoughts on the deal, or follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]

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Former Billabong USA President Paul Naude is starting brands all over the place with his new company Stokehouse Unlimited. He’s got the oddly named clothing brand Vissla, and then there’s D’Blanc eyewear, but now we get work that he’s also behind the launch of a new (as yet unnamed) women’s swim/sportswear brand from action fashion veterans Summer Rapp and Mandy Fry (pictured right).

“It has been a lifelong dream to start our own business and we feel now is our time to stake ownership and create a brand from the ground up,” said Fry. “We’re both entrepreneurs by nature and come from families of business owners who have taught us so many valuable lessons. We have also spent our careers learning from the best in the industry about how to build and sustain brands in the ever-changing apparel industry.”

Naude will offer the back office muscle while Rapp and Fry act as co-presidents and roll out the goods, reportedly.

“Partnering up with Paul for financial and operational support is instrumental in making this dream a reality,” added Rapp. “With his passion and vast experience in the California lifestyle business, we’re equipped to design, market and deliver all-around quality product. We both look up to Paul in so many ways and are honored to embark on this journey with him.”

The great thing about fashion is that people are always looking for the new new, especially when it’s coming from recognized players. For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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So no, there’s been no stalling going on, but Billabong today announced that it has agreed to a request from Paul Naude and his Sycamore Consortium to extend their exclusivity offer period 10 more days until May 8, 2013.

Billabong and the Sycamore Consortium agree that both have been working constructively and with the utmost cooperation to progress the Quality of Earnings report and the potential transaction. Accordingly that extension has been granted and the period of exclusivity will now conclude on Wednesday 8 May 2013. . . It is anticipated that the extension will be adequate for the completion of the report and its consideration.

So, that means the original 10 day exclusive period (which began on April 9, 2013) has now stretched to a month, but then it appears they don’t work weekends. For the official word from Billabong, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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The rumors rolling the Australian business press last night is that talks between Paul Naude and Billabong have stalled, but, according to a story in The Age, Billabong says this not the case.

Billabong said it is on track to update the market on the status of exclusive talks on a potential takeover bid after exclusivity period ends this evening. . . ‘‘Consistent with the ASX announcement of April 9th, Billabong will then provide a further update on the status of the proposal,” a Billabong spokesman said.. . He refuted suggestions that negotiations have been delayed by Billabong failing to provide documents to the consortium lead by Billabong executive Paul Naude. . . ‘‘The team continues to work tirelessly and cooperatively, as it has done for almost four months. Any suggestion that information has been held back is entirely incorrect,’’ the spokesman said.

That means there should be an announcement real soon one way or another. Most analysts appear to believe a deal will go through because without it, Billabong is going to need to come up with another AUS$100 million to stay afloat. Talk about being stuck between rocks and sharper rocks. . .

[Link: The Age]

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In a move many thought should have happened a while ago, Vans and Reef parent company VF Corp (along with San Francisco, California based private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners) has offered $555.5 million for Billlabong, according to a story in the Washington Post. That is the same amount offered by former Billabong USA President Paul Naude and his investor partners. According to a statement from VF they aren’t interested in the entire company.

VF’s primary interest in the transaction is in the Billabong® brand. This interest is consistent with VF’s stated intent to pursue acquisitions, particularly in the Action Sports category, to continue to build shareholder value. Altamont’s interest lies in acquiring Billabong’s other brands and related assets, and is predicated on the firm’s mandate to invest in situations where it can provide strategic and operational support to build business success stories.

It would be sad to see that Billabong brand portfolio broken up, but at this point it really about what’s best for the shareholders. We’d put odds on VF corp getting the deal getting done, if Billabong is sold. Guess we’ll know in six weeks. For the official word from VF, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Thanks to all kinds of rumors surrounding a possible $1.10 a share buy-out by Billabong America’s president Paul Naude, trading in the company’s stock has once again been halted, according to a story in the Hearld Sun.

Mr Naude, who stepped aside from the role last month to investigate a management buyout, is believed to have lined up US-based private equity group Sycamore Partners to help fund the deal. . . According to market speculation, the offer was put to Billabong chairman Ian Pollard late on Friday. . . It would value the company at $526.8 million. . . The group’s shares jumped to a two-month high of $1.01 yesterday as opportunity-hungry investors leapt on early speculation of a deal shortly after 11am.

The halt on trading was requested by the company “until tomorrow, pending an announcement.” Well, Parko won the world title, so guess that means the deal has to go through.

[Link: Herald Sun]

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