Billabong backer to rescue Quiksilver

Quiksilver was launched in 1969 in Australia, before relocating to California.

“It is important to emphasize the Company’s European and Asia-Pacific businesses and operations remain strong and are not part of this filing”, Healy said.

Quiksilver has announced that the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.

The deal is still subject to court approval.

The Californian company behind the Roxy and DC brands unveiled a $175 million (£113.7 million) restructuring plan, financed by Oaktree Capital Management.

USA wire agency Bloomberg reported in the United States overnight that while Quicksilver had been trying to arrange a management buyout, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy would enable a quicker restructuring by enabling the group to escape its costly U.S. leases. A consortium comprising investment firms Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners holds more than 38 per cent of Billabong shares. The company’s shares had lost almost 80 percent of their value this year by Tuesday’s close at 45 cents. The company received a warning from the New York Stock Exchange in July that its low stock price put it at risk for being delisted.

The company rode the fashion trend toward surfer and skateboarding styles in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The company expanded across the globe and has sponsored the sports biggest names.

But a shift away from surfer fashion – along with broader pressures on the apparel industry – took a toll.

Quiksilver, which has its origins in the Victorian surfing town of Torquay, suffered a 13 per cent fall in sales in 2014 and posted a loss of $US309 million.

The company plans to continue with a store- closing effort after filing for bankruptcy, according to one of the people.