Billabong Low Value Prompts Wonder What TPG Bid Knows: Real M&A

Billabong International Ltd. is so beaten down that potential buyers could top TPG Capital’s offer for the Australian surf-wear company and still pay the lowest valuation for an apparel deal on record.

TPG, the buyout firm run by David Bonderman, has offered A$765 million ($819 million) for Billabong, valuing the Gold Coast, Australia-based company at 12 times projected fiscal 2012 net income, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s half the median 24 times paid in takeovers of apparel makers in developed markets worth more than $500 million, the data show.