Shares in Quiksilver Inc., which owns DC Shoes and Roxy as well as the
Quiksilver brand, rose $1.05 on Thursday, or 22.7%, to $5.68 on a
report that French luxury and retail group PPR could be interested in an
acquisition. In October, PPR, which owns Puma, recently set up a new
Sport & Lifestyle
division to pursue acquisitions in the sports space.

French newspaper La Tribune reported that the owner of the Gucci, Yves
Saint Laurent, Puma and Bottega Veneta brands is looking to buy a sports
brand and could be attracted by the Huntington Beach, California-based
seller of adventure sports apparel.

PPR was also according to numerous reports close to a deal to sell its Conforma business.

In a note, according to Reuters, JPMorgan Cazenove analysts said a PPR sale of its Conforama
furniture unit would switch focus to possible buys by the French group.

“Following this disposal, potential acquisitions are in the limelight.
Burberry is “too big a fish” for PPR in our view … We think Quiksilver
could be of interest to PPR as a market leader in the lifestyle space
focused on surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding,” they wrote.

As reported, Puma in October was folded into the new Sport and Lifestyle division and long-time Puma chief executive, Jochen Zeitz, was put in in
charge of the division. Puma 
launched a search for a new CEO.