Rip Curl in buyout rumour

The surfwear industry was awash yesterday with speculation Rip Curl had changed hands, just days after rival brand Billabong fell into foreign ownership.

THE surfwear industry is awash with speculation Rip Curl has changed hands, just days after rival Billabong fell into foreign ownership.

According to a rumour published on a popular industry website, a Sydney family has struck a deal to buy Rip Curl from co-founders Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick.

It comes after Mr Singer and Mr Warbrick last year hired boutique Australian investment bank Gresham Partners to scout out potential buyers for Rip Curl.

At the time, the asking price was rumoured to be about $400 million.

According to closelywatched industry website Beachgrit, one of the Rip Curl founders “offhandedly mentioned to a member of the public” yesterday a Sydney family had just bought the brand. The buyer has not been named.

If true, it means Rip Curl – unlike the other two famous Australian surfwear brands, Quiksilver and Billabong – will remain in Australian ownership, at least for now.

Quiksilver is now owned by Californian group Boardriders, which is controlled by Los Angeles-based private equity house Oaktree Capital Management. That company last week succeeded in its bid to ac- quire Billabong.