Boardriders Inc completes acquisition of Billabong

For the new Boardriders CEO David Tanner, the business is a turning point for the action sports industry: "With the combination of Boardriders and Billabong, we are bringing together the best of both companies," says Tanner, "and will build a dynamic company under the umbrella of Boardriders."

According to the US media, the deal cost around 162 million Australian dollars (1.05 dollars per share). That is around 100 million euros. With the takeover Boardriders gets a new management team. The team will consist of executives from Boardriders, Billabong and new employees who have not yet worked for Billabong or Boardriders.

What is now the largest action sports company in the world has a total of 7,000 wholesale customers in more than 100 countries and more than 630 own shops in 28 countries. 

The Australian brand Billabong was founded in 1973. According to Billabong, the main sales have so far been made in Australia, North America, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil. With the takeover, around 4,000 employees will also change employers. 

According to Boardriders, the merger of the companies will be a multi-year process in which employees of both companies will be explicitly involved.