Rip Curl’s owner in takeover talks with US retail giant
The parent company of popular Australian brands Kathmandu and Rip Curl has revealed it is in takeover talks with the US-based global retail giant that owns labels including Dickies.
In an announcement to the ASX on Monday, KMD Brands said that after receiving a number of approaches from external parties, it had entered into an exclusivity agreement with retail powerhouse Bluestar Alliance “regarding a possible transaction to acquire all of the shares in KMD”.
Rip Curl is owned by KMD Brands, which is talking to a US suitor.Louie Douvis“There is no certainty at this time that this process will result in receipt of a binding proposal, or that any transaction will ultimately be consummated,” the statement said.
Bluestar’s stable also includes lifestyle brands Scotch & Soda, Hurley and bebe as well as luxury fashion labels Off-White and Palm Angels, among others.
Shares in KMD, which is also behind footwear company Oboz, jumped 10.37 per cent to close at $1.65 on Monday.
The potential acquisition comes at a turbulent time for the company, as KMD shares have fallen almost 60 per cent in the past year. Outdoor clothing and adventure brand Kathmandu was founded in Christchurch in 1987, and floated as a dual listing on the ASX and New Zealand Exchange in 2009.
KMD acquired surfwear staple Rip Curl in 2019 in a $350 million deal, taking the company out of private ownership for the first time since it was founded in Torquay, Victoria in 1969.
Ten Cap co-founder and portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu said, after persistent talk of an acquisition, the announcement of an exclusivity agreement with Bluestar was positive for KMD investors as it suggested some certainty about its future trajectory.
“The challenge for Kathmandu has been that it’s just too seasonal,” Liu said. “It would only make money in one month of the year, for winter sales in June. It was just so volatile.”
While its earnings improved with the acquisition of Rip Curl, KMD has faced ongoing difficulties because of significant retail competition, particularly from fast fashion, Liu said.
“The competition has been coming from everywhere. The challenge has been fierce, you not only need to move fast, you need to come up with and drop products fast, at the same time you need to be on trend and producing at low cost,” Liu said.
Bluestar’s potential takeover is not the first time a major US firm has taken an interest in a historic Australian surf brand.
Billabong and Quiksilver, which had each attempted their own expansions into the US market before falling under the control of the same parent company in 2018, were acquired by New York brand management titan Authentic Brands in 2023. Authentic also owns Reebok, Champion, Brooks Brothers, Forever 21, Sports Illustrated, Nautica and Ted Baker, among others.
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