Centerbridge Capital Partners of New York and its affiliates increased their stake in Billabong International to 36.23 percent from 33.25 percent during the first 10 days of September, according to a regulatory filings posted by the Australian action sports company.
Centerbridge acquired an additional 29.5 million shares of Billabong for between 60 and 69 cents per share, or rougly $19 million, from Sept. 2-10, according to the filing.
The purchases came a year after Billabong announced its board of directors had entered into binding refinancing agreements with a consortium formed by Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. of Los Angeles (C/O Consortium) after twice spurning their offers. BBG directors said they chose the consortium’s latest proposal over an agreement it had signed just two weeks earlier with a rival group led by Altamont Capital Partners because the $500 million in debt and equity investments C/O Consortium offered provided a stronger balance sheet on which to rebuild.
