Hockey-biz guy skates toward Bauer bid

Graeme Roustan, the former chairman of hockey equipment maker Performance Sports Group, is expected on Friday to back down from a nasty proxy fight with the company — ahead of a likely bid for the Exeter, NH, company, The Post has learned.

“This isn’t the end,” a source close to the situation said. “It’s the beginning.”

Roustan’s moveto stand down on the proxy fight comes after current Chair man Bernie McDonell greeted the push by his predecessor to gain a board seat in a lessthancordial manner.

PSG, maker of Bauer skates, sticks and other items, has seen its shares fall nearly 24 percent in the last year.

Roustan will likely team with a private equity firm for his expected run at the company, sources said.

A bid from Roustan for PSG — which closed Thursday with a market cap of $565 million — could reach more than $1 billion, said sources, who noted a bid may not be ready before the company’s Oct. 14 annual meeting.

Roustan is expected to turn up his level of interest in PSG— where he was on the board from 2008 to 2012 — weeks after he failed to secure an NHL expansion franchise for a second team in suburban Toronto.

Roustan thinks PSG is making a mistake by launching Own the Moment Hockey Experience stores and that it will anger sportinggoods re tailers, sources said.

However, PSG held its annual Bauer World event in Montreal this week, and many of its retail partners were supportive of the strategy, a source close to the company said.

PSG hockey revenue increased 13 percent in the year ended June 30. Sales were up 28 percent at rival Adidas’ ReebokCCM hockey unit for the six months ended May31.

Roustan and PSG declined comment.