Rip Curl buyout: Famous Aussie surfwear brand rumoured to have changed hands

THE surfwear industry is awash with speculation famous Aussie brand Rip Curl has changed hands, just days after rival label Billabong fell into foreign ownership.

THE surfwear industry is awash with speculation Rip Curl has changed hands, just days after rival brand Billabong fell into foreign ownership.

According to a rumour published on a popular industry website, a Sydney family has struck a deal to buy Rip Curl from co-founders Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick.

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It comes after Mr Singer and Mr Warbrick last year hired boutique Australian investment bank Gresham Partners to scout out potential buyers for Rip Curl.

At the time, the asking price was rumoured to be about $400 million.

Aussie surf great Mick Fanning in his final professional event, at Bells Beach near Torquay this week. Picture: Getty Images

According to closely-watched industry website Beachgrit, one of the Rip Curl founders “offhandedly mentioned to a member of the public” yesterday that the business had just been sold.

He said the buyer was a “Sydney family”. The family has not been named.

If the rumour is true, it means Rip Curl — unlike the other two famous Australian surfwear brands, Quiksilver and Billabong — will remain in Australian ownership, at least for now.

Like Rip Curl, Quiksilver was founded in the Victorian coastal village of Torquay almost 50 years ago.

But Quiksilver is now owned by Californian group Boardriders, which is controlled by Los Angeles-based private equity house Oaktree Capital Management.

That company last week succeeded in its bid to acquire Gold Coast-based Billabong, which is a listed company, but only after increasing its offer price at the last minute from $1 to $1.05 a share.

Rip Curl co-founders Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer at Torquay in 1997.

Billabong shareholders backed the bid, which valued the group at $208 million, in a meeting on Wednesday last week.

It is due to leave the Australian Securities Exchange next Monday, subject to approval for the buyout from the Federal Court tomorrow.

Rip Curl, a private company, is still based at Torquay, south west of Melbourne.

The speculation about a buyout comes after the world’s best surfers descended on Torquay over the past week for the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.

Australian champion Mick Fanning — in his final professional outing — ended second in the men’s event today behind Brazilian Italo Ferreira.

Fellow Australian Stephanie Gilmore won the women’s event, claiming the world No. 1 ranking in the process.