EXEC: Rip Curl and Oboz Parent KMD Halts Trading of Shares During Capital Raise

Trading in the securities of KMD Brands Limited will be halted at the request of KMD, pending the release of an announcement by the company. Unless the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) decides otherwise, the securities will remain in trading halt until the earlier of the commencement of normal trading on Friday, March 27, 2026, or the release of the announcement to the market.

KMD’s request for a trading halt is attached below for the market’s information.

Additionally, KMD told the market that it is not presently able to release its results as intended on Wednesday, March 25. The company said it expects to release its fiscal 2026 first half (HY26) results on Thursday, March 26, 2026, and no later than Friday, March 27, 2026.

KMD sent the following letter to the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and to the ASX on March 25, 2026:

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Request for Trading Halt: KMD Brands Limited (KMD.NZX/KMD.ASX)
We request that a trading halt be placed on KMD Brands Limited’s (KMD) ordinary shares (ISIN: NZKMDE0001S3) under ASX Listing Rule 17.1 and NZX Listing Rule 9.9.1(a). We would like the trading halt to commence immediately.

Reasons for Trading Halt
As announced to the market (25 March 2026), KMD intends to launch a capital raise by way of a placement and AREO in conjunction with the release of its financial results for the half year ended 31 January 2026 (HY26 Results). KMD has commenced a confidential wall crossing process with select investors. KMD is continuing discussions to finalise the terms of the capital raising.

KMD notes that it is effectively conducting an extended book build for a private placement, and there is a risk of material information leaking ahead of the formal announcement of the capital raise. KMD is not presently in a position to make a further announcement regarding the capital raise as the final details are still being determined.

Accordingly, a trading halt is required to maintain an orderly market while KMD works to finalise the details of the capital raise.

How long we want the trading halt to last.
We would like the trading halt to commence immediately and last until the earlier of KMD announcing the final terms of the proposed capital raise, and releasing the HY26 Results, expected to be on Thursday, 26 March 2026 and no later than market open on Friday, 27 March 2026.

The event we expect to happen that will end the trading halt.
We expect the trading halt to end once KMD is in a position to announce the capital raise. We note that we expect KMD will separately request a further two-day trading halt be applied to allow time for completion of the institutional components of any such capital raising.

We confirm that we are not aware of any reason why the trading halt should not be granted.

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It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the parent of the Rip Curl, Oboz and Kathmandu brands. There has been quite a buzz around the company’s efforts at a recapitalization effort with Goldman Sachs after that story leaked via the Australian Financial Review (AFR) and continued on after the same media source ran a story on former Billabong CEO Paul Naude’s proposal to merge his small California surf brands with Rip Curl that would require KMD to de-merge from the KMD structure. KMD is responding with a firm “no thanks” to that proposal.

Image courtesy Rip Curl/KMD Brands Limited

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