Australia's Billabong International receives revised lower takeover bids: report

Australia's Billabong International Ltd has received revised takeover bids, considerably lower than earlier bids, with the highest - A$287 million ($300 million) coming from its former US head, the Australian Financial Review today reported.

Paul Naude, director and president of Billabong's US unit and private equity firm Sycamore Partners has tabled a A$0.60 per share offer, while a consortium made up of private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners and US clothing group VF Corp has offered less than A$0.50 per share, the report said.

The offers are below half the A$1.10 initial bids made by both suitors, which had then valued the company at A$527 million ($550 million).

Billabong shares have been placed in a trading halt until the company makes an announcement on the takeover offers.

A lifeline for the struggling surfwear company appears to be bleak, especially after it lost around two-thirds of its value in the past year, and its stock last month plunged to an all-time low of A$0.63.

Debt-laden Billabong had in February 2012 rejected TPG Capital's offer of A$3.30 a share or $904 million. 

In July, TPG came back with a revised lower offer of $1.45-a-share or A$694 million, since after its first approach (TPG Capital returns with $712 mn offer for Australia's Billabong), Billabong sold 48.5 per cent of its watches and accessories company Nixon to Trilantic Capital Partners for $A432.71 million.

In early September Billabong received a matching offer from an unnamed second suitor, which media had identified as Bain Capital, but after inspecting the Queensland-based company's books, it also withdrew its bid.

After rejecting TPG's initial offers, Billabong announced a major restructuring that included job cuts and the partial sale of its watches and accessories company, Nixon, cutting production lines, and expanding its online business (Australia's surfwear giant Billabong rejects $820-mn bid from TPG Capital).

Under the restructuring, Billabong, which had 634 stores in Australia, Europe, and the Americas, has already closed 58 stores and is expected to shutter another 82 this financial year, most of which were set up two years back.

In order to raise money to pay debts of more than A$500 million, of which, A$484 million is due in 2013 and the remainder matures in 2014, Billabong sold Nixon and  came up with an A$225 million equity raising.

Apart from the Billabong brand, the company sells surfwear and accessories under the Palmers Surf, Honolua Surf, Swell.com, Von Zipper, Kustom (footwear), Nixon, Xcel Wetsuits and Tigerlily brands, and also Element skate clothing and hardware.

Billabong's products are licensed and distributed in more than 100 countries and are available in approximately 11,000 stores worldwide. Products are distributed through specialised boardsports retailers and through the company's own branded retail outlets.

The majority of it's A$1.79 billion revenue is generated through wholly-owned operations in Australia, North America, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil.