PPR (Paris) has offered to acquire Californian action sports brand Volcom Inc. for $607.5 million, reports Women’s Wear Daily.
The French retail-to-luxury group will make a cash tender offer for 100 percent of Costa Mesa-based Volcom of $24.50 a share. Volcom chairman and ceo Richard Woolcott is expected to stay with the company as part of PPR’s sport and lifestyle group, reporting to Puma AG ceo Jochen Zeitz, who oversees the expanding division.
Chairman and ceo François-Henri Pinault told WWD that he chose Volcom for its relatively small size and its strong potential for growth. “Even if the action sports market worldwide is growing, I feel much more comfortable looking at midsized or smaller-sized brands and betting on the growth potential of those brands,” he says, reports WWD.
Volcom was founded by Woolcott and fellow boardsport enthusiast Tucker Hall in 1991. The company produces apparel, including streetwear, boardshorts, denim, swimwear and sandals, as well as runs an indie record label.