It's hard to think of a better time to sell a bikini business.
With the sun out ahead of the holiday season, and sales up 21 per cent over the past year, Billabong International is in the market seeking a buyer for swimwear and fashion label Tigerlily.
After receiving some inbound inquiries, first point of business was to appoint an adviser and set up a sale process.
Street Talk can reveal Billabong has turned to Houlihan Lokey and has had the boutique firm drumming up buyer interest in recent weeks.
And it is understood Tigerlily has caught the eye of LVMH's private equity arm L Capital Asia.
L Capital is no stranger to Australian labels. It already has stakes in bush outfitter RM Williams, sportswear company 2XU and swimwear maker Seafolly.
Of course, it is the Seafolly angle that has Billabong-watchers a little excited.
It'll be interesting to see whether L Capital and Billabong can agree a deal.
For its part, Billabong is a keen seller having flagged its exit intentions for brands including Tigerlily, VonZipper and Xcel at the company's annual general meeting last month. Although, as always, Billabong says there will be no deal or deals until it gets the right price and no doubt that's where Houlihan Lokey comes into play.
Billabong reported that Tigerlily's Australian sales were up 21 per cent last financial year, saying it "proved again to be one of the region's strong performers".
