15/11/2013

Business news : Crocs Said to Explore Strategic Options as Buyout Talks Falter

Crocs Inc. (CROX), the shoemaker known forits brightly-colored clogs, is considering its strategic optionsafter talks to take the company private stalled, people withknowledge of the matter said.

Crocs held talks with private-equity firms includingBlackstone Group LP (BX) and KKR & Co., two people said, asking notto be identified because the information is private. The chanceof a deal is slim because of a gap in price expectations, saidone of the people.

The shares rose 9.5 percent to $13.85 as of 12:09 a.m.,giving the company a market value of about $1.2 billion.

Crocs has struggled since 2007 to recapture the growth andprofitability that it enjoyed when its clogs were stillfaddishly popular. Its market value peaked at over $5.6 billionthat year, before tumbling along with profits that were hurt bycompetition from knockoffs as well as the Niwot, Colorado-basedcompany's decision to sell the clogs -- now called Crocs Classic-- everywhere, including in gas stations.

Crocs, which also sells other styles of shoes that bear noresemblance to the clogs, will earn about $65 million this year,analyst projections compiled by Bloomberg show. That's comparedwith earnings of $131 million in 2012, and $168 million at thepeak in 2007, the data show.

Chief Executive Officer John McCarvel and spokeswoman KatyLachky didn't respond to several requests for comment. Spokesmenfor Blackstone and KKR also declined to comment.

Source Bloomberg

To contact the reporters on this story:Kiel Porter in London at kporter17@bloomberg.net;Jodi Xu in New York at jxu205@bloomberg.net;Jeffrey McCracken in New York at jmccracken3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:Jeffrey McCracken at jmccracken3@bloomberg.net




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