TheDeal.com is reporting that both Marmot Mountain Ltd. and Spyder Active Sports are shopping for new owners. J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. has reportedly been retained by Marmots management to solicit potential buyers, while Spyder has retained the joint services of Financo Inc. and Wachovia Securities.
Following up on the initial reports, sources familiar with both deals have confirmed that both VF Corp. and Columbia Sportswear were looking at Spyder. Apparently, Spyder is likely to be snapped up quickly due to the rapid growth the company has been experiencing (250% since 1998) and the high margins reported.
Spyder management has been keeping a tight lid on information coming out of the company, but Laura Wisner, the companys marketing manager told a local paper that Spyder had reached the point where it needed more money to fund future growth.
Other sources in the financial community told BOSS that the Marmot deal is progressing very slowly, which may be due to its price tag. Marmot apparently has quite a few investors, including Trinity Ventures and Russell Corp., each owning approximately 10% of the company.
Jamie Sheenan, a general partner at Trinity Ventures, sits on the Marmot Board of Directors. BOSS sources say they find it curious that neither Trinity nor Russell has made a play at buying the Marmot brand outright.
There appears to be quite a few potential suitors for Marmot. VF Corp. was reportedly interested, but only if they could position the brand under TNF, which apparently didnt sit well with Marmot, according to industry sources. Other companies that may have expressed interest include Nike, Oakley and Timberland.
>>> BOSS sees the Spyder opportunity as a nice fit for VF if they can pull it off.
>>> Russell has been in the business of acquiring mostly distressed properties out of bankruptcy or near-bankruptcy so the Marmot option may not work there. The company also appears to need the balance of this year to get their own house in order
