Quiksilver to Lose $500 Million on Rossignol Sale

In 2005, Quiksilver bought French ski/snow company Rossignol for $560 million.  Now it’s going to sell for $52 million.  You can probably do the math, but that’s a depreciation of $510 million.

No one is probably happier about this than former Rossignol chief executive Bruno Cercley, who now heads Chartreuse & Mont Blanc, which is buying the company.

The recent financial crisis almost scuttled the deal, which was brokered two months ago with a sale price of $130 million.  Quiksilver saw its stock value drop 70% in just two months, forcing the Huntington Beach-based company to cut its losses.

After the deal was announced, shares jumped about 5% giving the company a market value of about $330 million — more than $200 million less than the company paid for Rossignol in the first place.

After the deal closes next month Quiksilver will still sell Rossignol clothes through winter and could license the name for use on clothing beyond that.

For more about the deal, check out this Orange County Business Journal article.