Quiksilver tillkännagav i dag att man säljer 100 procent av aktierna i Cleveland Golf till japanska SRI Sports Limited, som också äger varumärket Srixon.
SRI Sports betalar 132,5 miljoner dollar. Affären beräknas vara genomförd till den 31 januari 2008.
Quiksilver köpte en del av aktierna i Cleveland i juli 2005 från Rossignol Group. Resterande aktier köptes i september 2007.
Affären är ett led i Quiksilver’s strategi för att reducera sina innehav på hårdvarumarknaden. I stället ska man satsa på sin kärnverksamhet.
Kommentarer (på engelska):
Robert B. McKnight, Jr, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc:
”We are very pleased to have reached a compelling transaction with SRI Sports. While we believe that Cleveland is the best up-and-coming brand in the golf market with significant growth opportunities, it is not a strategic asset for us as we strive to maximize our core businesses and brands.”
Bernard Mariette, President of Quiksilver, Inc:
”We believe this transaction is a key strategic action for our company that will drive immediate value and enable us to reduce both our exposure to the hardgoods space and our degree of leverage. We are pleased to turn over the leadership of Cleveland to such a capable and well-respected company and believe that this transaction is a clear win for everyone involved. We remain fully committed to our vision to transform Rossignol to a global lifestyle brand and therefore to the continued ownership of the related hardgoods assets”. Mr. McKnight added, “We are continuing to evaluate ways to reduce our exposure to risk in some of our non-core winter equipment businesses, including Dynastar, Lange, Look, Kerma and Risport which, like Cleveland Golf, were acquired in 2005 as part of the Rossignol Group.”
Ryochi Sawada, Chairman of the Board of SRI Sports Limited:
”We are very excited to add the Cleveland brand and business to our operations. Cleveland has a clear position of dominance in the important wedge market and a fast-growing presence in drivers and irons. We believe that this business will prove highly complementary to our own. We are looking forward to demonstrating Cleveland’s full potential to the market and believe that the business can benefit greatly from our stewardship.”
Greg Hopkins, President of Cleveland Golf Company, Inc:
”We are excited by the many positive aspects of this deal, including the combination of a great brand in golf with a new organization that is completely and solely devoted to the sport. Significantly, their operating model is set up to anticipate and respond to the seasonality and other specific requirements of the golf market. We believe that this singular focus will benefit the entire Cleveland organization in a number of ways. Each of the three companies involved – Cleveland Golf, Quiksilver, and our new parent SRI Sports benefit in significant ways as this transaction will positively affect the futures of all three companies.”
