Billabong Shareholders Vote In Favour Of Boardriders Takeover

BILLABONG investors have voted overwhelmingly to sell the iconic Gold Coast brand to the US-based owners of Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes for $210 million.

The deal was struck after Boardriders increased its $1 a share offer to $1.05 a share just minutes before a vote meeting was due to get underway at Billabong’s Gold Coast headquarters on Wednesday.

In their statement to the ASX, the Burleigh-born company said 85.87 per cent of its eligible shareholders had cast a vote, 95 per cent of whom voted in favour of the improved offer.

5.87% of Billabong shareholders have voted in favour of the acquisition proposed by Boardriders Inc, home to Quiksilver, DC & Roxy. Boardriders upped their offer from $1 per share to $1.05 last minute before the vote was cast at the ‘Scheme Meeting’ held today in Burleigh Heads, Australia acting as means to persuade those undecided voters.

The deal still needs to be approved by a court hearing, which Billabong have scheduled for 10.15am on Friday, 6 April 2018 at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney.

Boardriders are controlled by funds under the management of Oaktree Capital Management and Oaktree are one of Billabong’s two senior lenders, currently holding 19.3% of their shares. Should the court approve the deal, Boardriders will acquire all shares not already owned by Oaktree Capital.

Boardriders chief executive Dave Tanner said the deal represented the best value for shareholders, employees, vendors and customers.

“We are pleased to see that the Billabong shareholders recognized this value, and have approved the proposed acquisition,” Mr Tanner said.

Mr Tanner said Wednesday’s deal was a “significant milestone” and took the American company one step closer to “creating the world’s leading action sports company”.

“We look forward to uniting the Billabong and Boardriders communities and building a foundation to better showcase and grow the action sports industry,” he said.

If all goes to plan, Billabong will put the order of the court into effect on Monday April 9 and the ‘scheme’ (transaction) will become effective that day, ceasing the trading of Billabong’s shares on the Australian Securities Exchange.