Surfwear giant Billabong is walking away from a $325 million refinancing deal from Altamont Capital, instead accepting a rival bid from Centerbridge Partners and Oaktree Capital Management.
The new arrangement will see Billabong repay a $315 million bridge loan facility to Altamont along with a $6 million break fee.
The Centerbridge Oaktree offer will see the surfwear retailer gain a six-year senior secured term loan of $386 million, along with a further $135 million through an equity placement.
“This is a turning point for the company,” Billabong chairman Ian Pollard says.
“We’ll now be back focused on business with a clear direction [and] new leadership. I must say, I’m looking forward to it.”
The US Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will continue its bond-buying stimulus program has caused an unexpected boost to the Australian dollar.
The Aussie dollar recorded its largest single-day rise since 2011 – up US1.5 cents – following the announcement as the ASX 200 surged more than 1.1%.
Outgoing Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop is set to receive a €18.8 million ($25.5 million) golden parachute if shareholders agree to sell its mobile phone division to Microsoft.
Elop’s termination agreement is set to include 18 months of his base salary, worth around €4.2 million, along with €14.6 million accelerated vesting of his outstanding equity awards.
The controversial chief executive has been dubbed a “Trojan horse” by sections of the Finnish media.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down to 15636.6. the Aussie dollar is up to US94.40 cents.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
