Quiksilver, Inc., said today that it has received a binding offer from Chartreuse & Mont Blanc to buy the Rossignol Group for 100 million euros ($147.2 million USD).
The sports-apparel company said that Chartreuse & Mont Blanc is headed by Bruno Cercley, who is a former chief executive officer of Rossignol. The deal, expected to close in the fall, includes the Rossignol, Dynastar, Look and Lange brands of winter sports equipment and apparel.
Robert B. McKnight, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive and President of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, “This offer is a compelling transaction for Quiksilver and represents the culmination of a thorough sale process. Once completed, we can fully concentrate our efforts on our core apparel and footwear brands Quiksilver, Roxy and DC.”
Quiksilver paid $560.8 million USD for Rossignol three years ago, but put the unit up for sale this year after becoming disappointed with its foray into hardgoods and the winter market. Quiksilver expects the transaction to close in fall 2008 and said it plans to use sale proceeds to pay down debt. Chartreuse & Mont Blanc is majority owned by Macquarie Group, and has a non-voting minority interest by Jarden Corp, the parent company of K2 and Volkl.
