(
)
(
)
Spyder Active Sports is being dangled by a thread — to the highest bidder, that is.
The Colorado ski brand — whose high-tech racing gear has been worn by Olympic champions like Bode Miller and Julia Mancuso — is on the block, sources told The Post.
Private-equity owner Apax Partners is looking to reap as much $150 million on a sale and has hired Blackstone Group to shop the label, insiders briefed on the situation said.
Officials at Spyder didn’t respond to requests for comment yesterday. An Apax spokesman declined to comment.
Likely bidders include ski giant Columbia Sportswear and VF Corp., which owns the North Face brand, sources said.
Nevertheless, the auction process could face some rough sledding. An unusually balmy winter last year sapped sales and margins, and may limit sales this season as well.
Apax, which bought Spyder in 2004 for $100 million, has made at least one unsuccessful attempt to unload Spyder before, sources said.
“$125 million is a good price” for Spyder, one source said, citing the low end of an expected range for a sale.
That would equate to a healthy multiple of Spyder’s earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization, which are currently running at an annual rate that’s well over $10 million after plunging as low as $3 million during the recession, people close to the label said.
“Their sweater business is doing great now,” according to one source close to Spyder, referring to the brand’s signature garment, which was developed in the late 1970s by founder and chairman David Jacobs.
Likely bidders will be more focused on the long-term possibilities of the brand than in last year’s weather-beaten results, according to Charles Strauzer, senior analyst at CJS Securities.
jcovert@nypost.com