Private equity and real estate group Blackstone (BX.N) is close to buying German outdoor clothing brand Jack Wolfskin and a deal is likely to be announced as early as Thursday, a source familiar with the situation said. The Financial Times earlier reported timing of the deal which the paper said would be for 700 million euros ($993.9 million). Blackstone has been in exclusive talks to purchase the brand, owned by Quadriga Capital and Barclays Private Equity. Quadringa Capital said in a statement in June that all parties were aiming to conclude negotiations in the third quarter of 2011 and that the new owners would drive international expansion of the brand. A source told Reuters at the time that Blackstone was willing to pay more than 700 million euros ($1 billion) for the brand, whose rivals in the fast growing market for outdoor clothing and equipment include VF Corp-owned The North Face VFC.N.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (Blackstone) is a manager of private capital and provider of financial advisory services. Shares of BX traded higher by 2.98% or $0.47/share to $16.26. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.89 and as high as $19.63. On average, 3345310 shares of BX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3913439.
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