KKR ends takeover talks with Pacific Brands

Earlier in January, KKR launched an unsolicited takeover bid for the listed company at a reported amount of $614 million. Later in February, TPG Capital also reportedly joined a group of eight banks to run for the company.

"Having explored these enquiries, the board of Pacific Brands has concluded that a definitive proposal for the acquisition of the entire issued capital of the company is unlikely to be forthcoming in the near term," the company said in a statement.

But the company said it will continue to focus on on-going review and rationalization of its brand portfolio, adding that underlying sales are expected to be down due to continuing weak retail conditions and changes to the customer base.

Pacific Brands' earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for 2012 were expected to be in the range of A$125 million ($125 million) to A$130 million. Cash restructuring charges were expected to increase to about A$32 million.

PacBrands, which distributes products made by Everlast, Bonds, Clarks and Dunlop, is no stranger to private equity. Almost 11 years ago, a consortium including Catalyst Investment Managers and CVC Asia Pacific bought the business from parent company Pacific Dunlop for $730m. They exited in 2004 via an IPO which valued the firm at $1.3 billion.

The stock is currently down 7%, trading at 57.5 cents a share.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Australasia
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• KKR
• TPG Capital
• Australia
• buyout