Skis Rossignol shares jumped early on Monday after a French newspaper reported that Quiksilver Inc. was making a bid for the company. Rossignol is “a company we are looking at more closely, even though it is not the only possibility”, said Bernard Mariette, Quiksilver’s president, in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos.
Rossignol reportedly confirmed that Quiksilver had approached it to discuss a merger but said the Boix Vives family, which owns a 45% stake in Rossignol and 63% of its voting rights, had not yet decided to sell its holding. Rossignols chairman Laurent Boix-Vives has issued a statement acknowledging that a letter of intent has been received but “no response has yet been given.”
“The Boix Vives family remains very passionate about the group and for the moment has not made a decision on selling its stake,” said Yves Barnoud, the company’s COO, in a Reuters report. Local news services are reporting that Laurent Boix-Vives heirs have no interest in assuming control of the company when the 78-year-old chooses to retire.
Nike and K2 Inc. were also mentioned as potential suitors, although the latter seems unlikely since K2 is still integrating its recent Volkl/Marker acquisition.
Quicksilver, for the first time this year, exceeded the $1 billion sales mark, and finished the year with $55.2 million in cash reserves, almost twice as much as last year. Nike also had a record year so far with second quarter sales hitting $3.1 billion and $1.2 billion in cash reserves.
