Shares in troubled retailer Billabong have plunged after media reports suggested private equity firm TPG may pull the plug on its $1.45 a share bid.
The surf clothing retailer had received a bid from TPG in July, which valued the firm at about $695 million, but which the company said undervalued the company.
Last month, rival private equity group Bain Capital stepped into the fray, offering a similar bid. The Australian Financial Review reports that the TPG had was concerned with some of the issues it has discovered during its due diligence on Billabong. Before today, shares in Billabong had been hammered as retail sales struggled while its multi-brand strategy left it in a difficult position for competition in the sector.
Within minutes of the news breaking, Billabong's shares plunged 30 cents, or 22.8 per cent, to $1.015.
In recent trade they had climbed back to $1.075