Authentic Brands Group reportedly nearing takeover of Quiksilver owner

Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), the owner of Reebok, Juicy Couture and Ted Baker, is said to be nearing a deal to takeover the holder of Quiksilver and Billabong.

According to Bloomberg, Authentic could be looking at a deal worth 1.3 billion dollars to acquire Boardriders, though no final decision has yet been made.

Boardriders, which also owns the Roxy brands, is currently controlled by US investment giant, Oaktree Capital Management.

Representatives for the firm and for Authentic declined to comment, and sources familiar with the matter were asked to not be identified, Bloomberg noted.

The report comes as Boardriders was reputedly looking into potential sales offers amid concerns over weak cash flow and rapidly maturing loans, recently forcing it to cut 20 percent of its Australian staff.

The Californian group – formerly known as Quiksilver – was acquired by Oaktree in 2016 as it exited bankruptcy and formulated a new reorganisation plan that looked to revitalise the company and rationalise operations.

In 2018, the conglomerate then snapped up its competitor Billabong, acquiring all of its shares and revamping its leadership team.

Authentic has also been on a string of acquisitions over the past years, and was most recently linked to the sales process of British footwear brand Hunter.

Last year, the group announced the takeover of Ted Baker and the David Beckham brand, and has repeatedly struck up deals to expand the presence of its portfolio, namely that of Reebok, which it has been pushing into new global markets.