Billabong to negotiate with TPG on acquisition proposal

The Board of Billabong, together with its advisors, has reviewed the proposal in detail The Board has concluded that, subject to negotiation of an acceptable confidentiality agreement, TPG will be granted the opportunity to conduct non-exclusive due diligence in order to reduce the conditionality of its proposal and to improve its understanding and valuation of Billabong.

There is no guarantee that, following the due diligence process, a transaction will be agreed or that the Board will recommend an offer at the current proposed offer price In fact, the Board of Billabong does not believe that the proposal reflects the fundamental value of Billabong in the context of a change of control transaction.

Billabong has established and grown many of the leading brands in the global board sports market. Those brands, which include Billabong, RVCA, Element and DaKine among many others, are internationally recognised and globally distributed. On 27 August 2012, Billabong will announce its 2011-12 full year profit results and a three year transformation strategy focused on reinvesting in and reinvigorating its brands, removing complexity from the business and returning the company to growth.

In any control transaction, the Board of Billabong will seek to ensure that the medium to long-term prospects of the company and its unique brands are reflected in the value realised by Billabong's shareholders.

It is expected that the due diligence process will take several weeks.

Goldman Sachs is acting as financial advisor and Aliens is acting as legal advisor to Billabong.

Billabong