Billabong sells off beachwear brand

TigerlilySurfwear retailer, Billabong, has sold the Tigerlily business brand to a Sydney-based private equity firm in a bid to simplify its brand portfolio.

Billabong today announced it has reached an agreement to sell the swimwear brand Crescent Capital Partners.

The sale of Tigerlily will raise $60 million, with net proceeds from the sale used to retire debt.

The business was acquired in December 2007 for $5.8 million.

Tigerlily’s revenue was approximately $30 million for the twelve month period ended 31 December 2016 and on a full year basis was expected to contribute between $7 million and $8 million in EBITDA to Billabong for the 2017 financial year.

Further details will be provided with Billabong’s half year results announcement tomorrow.

Surfwear retailer Billabong’s earnings in the first half of 2016/17 are expected to be substantially lower than the previous corresponding period after poor weather dented sales in Australia and Europe.

Nick Fiske, Billabong managing director, said poor weather had hurt Billabong’s sales over the first four months of the fiscal year.

“In Australia, October was particularly weak across the surf retail market as a whole,” Fiske said. “However, as weather conditions have normalised, our trading has picked up substantially in November.”

The Tigerlily deal is expected to be completed before the end of the current financial year.

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