Kirkland Advises Boardriders on Purchase Offer from Authentic Brands

Kirkland & Ellis counseled Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and its portfolio company Boardriders, a global action sports and lifestyle company, on a period of exclusivity and a binding offer with Authentic Brands Group, a global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform, to purchase Boardriders. 

Through this acquisition, Authentic would strategically diversify and expand its portfolio with the addition of the most iconic brands in board sports, including Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, DC Shoes, RVCA, Element, VonZipper and Honolua. Boardriders is a highly diversified global business with operations across continents, including the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia and its portfolio generates $2.9 billion in retail sales annually through a global multichannel distribution network of 500-plus owned retail stores, 7,000 wholesale accounts and e-commerce in 35 countries.

Read Authentic Brands’ press release

The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Hamed Meshki and Michele Cumpston and associate Guirgis Nasief; and tax partners Mike Beinus and Devin Heckman.