LVMH's L Capital eyes Billabong's bikini brand - sources

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Dec 19, 2016

Billabong's bikini brand Tigerlily has reportedly attracted the eye of LVMH's private equity arm L Capital Asia, according to Australian media reports on Monday.

Sources told the Australian Financial Review that Billabong has enlisted specialist firm Houlihan Lokey to drum up buyer interest in recent weeks.

L Capital has a taste for Australian labels with stakes in RM Williams, 2XU and fellow swimwear label Seafolly. If the rumours are true, the Seafolly and Tigerlilly labels could develop into something more: a mega swimwear label?

Billabong revealed its intentions to sell several of its secondary brands in late november at its AGM, saying it wish to focus on Billabong, RVCA and Element.

"At the moment we are carefully considering some of our smaller brands, including Tigerlily, VonZipper and Xcel, with a view to possible sales which could cover part of our debt and streamline our brand portfolio," said Billabong president Ian Pollard at the time.

Billabong and L Capital have not commented on the recent acquisition reports.

In its last fiscal year, Billabong reported a revenue of AUD1.1 billion (€740 million), with an EBITDA of AUD57.5 million. For the 2016-17 fiscal year, which kicked off with a weak first four months, the group expects an EBITDA ranging between AUD60 million and AUD65 million.