Second takeover offer for Billabong withdrawn

Shares in ailing Australian sportswear company Billabong plunged to an all-time low Friday after private equity firm TPG withdrew from its Aus$694.5 million (US$712 million) takeover offer. The blow after came Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, also pulled out of a bid last month during the due diligence phase. In the latest setback, TPG International LLC pulled the pin from its Aus$1.45 a share proposal with Billabong saying all discussions had ceased, sending its share price plunging as much as 18 percent to 82 cents. In February, Billabong's largest shareholder and founder Gordon Merchant and fellow investor Colette Paul rejected a separate takeover bid from TPG at Aus$3.30 a share Cameron Securities private client adviser Henry Jennings said the market was expecting Friday's decision after media speculation last week forced the company into a trading halt. "A lot of the disappointment would have been built in but there still would be people who would have been very hopeful for the takeover," he said. Jennings added that the surfwear and sports apparel maker, which also owns brands including Von Zipper, Nixon and Tigerlily, could still turn the business around. "There's still light at the end of the tunnel but it might take a while," he said. Billabong said Friday it would continue with its transformation strategy, which includes closing stores, cutting production lines, globalising its supply chain and growing its online business.