TPG Capital tables $820-mn bid for Australian surfwear giant Billabong
17 Feb 2012
US-based private equity group TPG Capital is said to have tabled an A$766 million ($820 million) bid for Australia's struggling surfwear giant Billabong International, according to The Australian Financial Review.
Texas-based TPG Capital, which has $48 billion of capital under management, is said to have made the preliminary offer to debt-laden Billabong on 12 February.
TPG Capital is understood to have made a $3 per share preliminary and incomplete offer, which is one the several offers under scrutiny by Billabong since it announced a strategic review in December 2011.
Billabong, whose shares are being traded at A$1.79, did not comment on the takeover speculation, but the company yesterday went into a trading halt, citing the release of its strategic capital structure review today.
TPG Capital, which is offering a premium of 68 per cent above yesterday's closing price of A$1.79, is being backed by funding commitments from Australian and international lenders, the paper said.
Billabong, based in Australia's Gold Coast, has debt of more than A$500 million, of which, A$484 million is due in 2013 and the remainder matures in 2014.
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