Sport in world

Quiksilver, Inc. Announces Sale of Cleveland Golf for $132.5 Million

Published: Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:00 AM MST

Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE: ZQK) announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell 100% of the stock of its Cleveland Golf Company, Inc. subsidiary to SRI Sports Limited, based in Japan.

The transaction value is $132.5 million and the transaction is expected to close during the fiscal quarter ending January 31, 2008. Net proceeds from the sale will be used to repay existing indebtedness.

Quiksilver originally acquired a portion of the interest in Cleveland in its July 2005 acquisition of the Rossignol Group. The remaining interest was acquired in a separate transaction in September 2007.

This transaction resulted from Quiksilvers initiative, first announced in June 2007, to explore strategic alternatives to reduce its exposure to the hardgoods manufacturing businesses. Robert B. McKnight, Jr., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, We are very pleased to have reached a compelling transaction with SRI Sports. While we believe that Cleveland is the best up-and-coming brand in the golf market with significant growth opportunities, it is not a strategic asset for us as we strive to maximize our core businesses and brands.

Bernard Mariette, President of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, We believe this transaction is a key strategic action for our company that will drive immediate value and enable us to reduce both our exposure to the hardgoods space and our degree of leverage. We are pleased to turn over the leadership of Cleveland to such a capable and well-respected company and believe that this transaction is a clear win for everyone involved.

Ryochi Sawada, Chairman of the Board of SRI Sports Limited, commented, We are very excited to add the Cleveland brand and business to our operations. Cleveland has a clear position of dominance in the important wedge market and a fast-growing presence in drivers and irons. We believe that this business will prove highly complementary to our own. We are looking forward to demonstrating Clevelands full potential to the market and believe that the business can benefit greatly from our stewardship.

Greg Hopkins, President of Cleveland Golf Company, Inc, commented, We are excited by the many positive aspects of this deal, including the combination of a great brand in golf with a new organization that is completely and solely devoted to the sport. Significantly, their operating model is set up to anticipate and respond to the seasonality and other specific requirements of the golf market. We believe that this singular focus will benefit the entire Cleveland organization in a number of ways. Each of the three companies involved - Cleveland Golf, Quiksilver, and our new parent SRI Sports benefit in significant ways as this transaction will positively effect the futures of all three companies.

Commenting on Quiksilvers remaining hardgoods brands, Mr. Mariette continued, We remain fully committed to our vision to transform Rossignol to a global lifestyle brand and therefore to the continued ownership of the related hardgoods assets. Mr. McKnight added, We are continuing to evaluate ways to reduce our exposure to risk in some of our non-core winter equipment businesses, including Dynastar, Lange, Look, Kerma and Risport which, like Cleveland Golf, were acquired in 2005 as part of the Rossignol Group.

Quiksilver, Inc. was advised by JPMorgan.

About Quiksilver
Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK) is the world's leading outdoor sports lifestyle company, which designs, produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports, footwear, accessories and related products. The Company's apparel and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its boardriding culture and heritage, while its wintersports brands symbolize a long standing commitment to technical expertise and competitive success on the mountains.

The reputation of Quiksilver Inc.s brands is based on different outdoor sports. The Company's Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes and Hawk brands are synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach and water oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and Leilani. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look and Kerma brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC Shoes, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels. Gotcha is the Company's surf-based European brand addressing street fashion.

The Company's products are sold in over 90 countries in a wide range of distribution, including surf shops, ski shops, skateboard shops, snowboard shops, its proprietary Boardriders Club shops, other specialty stores and select department stores. Quiksilver's corporate and Americas' headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California, while its European headquarters are in St. Jean de Luz and St. Jean de Moirans, France, and its Asia/Pacific headquarters are in Torquay, Australia.

About SRI Sports Limited
SRI Sports is a leading, listed sporting goods company that manufactures and sells golf and tennis equipment centered on the Dunlop and Srixon brands, with Fiscal 2006 consolidated sales of approximately US $470 million.

Forward looking statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements including but not limited to statements regarding the companys financial forecast, earnings and revenue guidance and the success of the Rossignol integration activities. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Please refer to Quiksilvers SEC filings for more information on the risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, specifically the section titled Forward-Looking Statements in Quiksilvers Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Note: For further information about Quiksilver, Inc., you are invited to take a look at our world at www.quiksilver.com, www.roxy.com, www.dcshoecousa.com, www.quiksilveredition.com, www.hawkclothing.com, www.rossignol.com, and www.dynastar.com

Game 10: #6 Southern Illinois

#19 Western Illinois (6-3, 3-1) vs. #6 Southern Illinois (7-1, 3-1)
Nov. 3, 2007 1:05 p.m.
Macomb, Ill. Hanson Field

BROADCASTS
RADIO: WJEQ (102.7 FM, Macomb)
Michael Jones, play by play
Arlen Britton, color analyst

WEB
Live WJEQ broadcast
Rocky Vision: Live wiutv3 broadcast
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Western Sports Network Podcast: Football

MACOMB, Ill. - The latest installment of the Western Sports Network Podcast focuses on Leatherneck football.

Defensive coordinator Thomas Casey sits down to evaluate the play of his squad so far, and look at some of the players who have made impacts for him this year. Also featured is senior defensive back Kevin Almlie, junior linebacker Jason Williams, and senior linebacker Jerome Bennett. They give their perspective on the year so far and talk about some of their accomplishments on the season.

The Western Sports Network Podcast is a free feature of Rocky Vision and can be downloaded through the podcast section of wiuathletics.com in itunes.
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Tony Haynes: Wolfpack Staying Humble

Since they don't live in a vacuum, NC State's football players found it impossible to completely tune out the scrutiny that was coming their way following a 1-5 start. Now, all of sudden, criticism has given way to praise in the wake of impressive victories over East Carolina and Virginia.
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North Carolina Fends Off Volleyball, 3-0

NC State lost in three games to North Carolina on Tuesday, Oct. 30, in Chapel Hill, N.C., at Carmichael Auditorium. With the loss State falls to 3-21 (0-14 ACC) on the year, while the Tar Heels move to 10-13 (6-8 ACC). Ashley Wallace posted a team-best seven kills in her final career meeting with the Pack's archrival, and Alex Smith lifted 17 assists. Lindsay Benac (14) and Chrissy Zirpolo (10) combined for 24 of the team's 53 digs, with Zirpolo scoring the red and white's lone service ace on the evening. Aiwane Iboaya amassed seven total blocks.
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TIM PEELER: Singers Shine at 'Athletes With Talent' Show

Any doubts that NC State's student-athletes had gifts beyond their athletic talents were quickly dispelled early Monday night at Stewart Theater, as baseball pitcher Jason Zinser spent 30 minutes playing background music on the piano as spectators filed in the doors for the inaugural “Athletes With Talent” charity show. They were thrown further out the window when Zinser, a sophomore from San Diego who just transferred to NC State from UCLA, opened the show by singing a medley of three songs while playing the guitar. The event raised nearly $1,600 for a Raleigh charity.
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Scouting Vancouver

By Thomas Furuheim
Published: Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:00 AM MST

Together with Olympiatoppen (the National Sports governing body in Norway) ge Skinstad traveled to Vancouver last week. Skinstad returned with a very good impression after his stay:

It looked really good. The organizers have made significant progress and seem to be excellent at preparing. Regarding Nordic, the trail system is already 100% finished.

Training Camp
The Olympics in Vancouver get started in 2010 and this first visit was for reconnaissance.

This was the first visit to the Olympic venues and we plan to return at least two more times before the championship begins. We also intend to have a training camp there after the world championship in 2009 explains the sports chief.

In 2009 there will also be a World Cup in Vancouver.

The world cup has been scheduled for January. However, it looks like we wont be fielding a complete team because it takes place between the Tour de Ski and the Norwegian national championship, which is the last opportunity for racers to qualify for the world championship.

What are the Nordic Trails Like?
They have constructed two 5 kilometer courses, one for skating and one for classic. They are about 1/3 uphill, 1/3 flat, and 1/3 downhill. There will probably be more striding than in earlier years. A portion of the loops are also paved for rollerskiing, so it is possible to have training camps there during the dryland period as well.

The cross country racers are going to reside in the Olympic village. Its construction has just gotten underway.

The Olympic village is 14 kilometers away from the Nordic venue, which suits us well. A shuttle will run every 20 minutes. The mountain apartments that are being built are of extremely high quality, comments Skinstad.

Without Biathletes on the Team?
If you examine the competition schedule it looks like it will be difficult for the biathletes to race the 15 kilometer.

There are some problems because the 15km freestyle race is scheduled to take place between the biathletes sprint and pursuit competitions. I will, however, try to convince the best skaters, including Lars Berger, to prioritize the 15 km concludes ge Skinstad to langrenn.com.

Source: Langrenn.com

ge Skinstad

Men

The NC State men's soccer team will return to home action this afternoon, hosting Gardner-Webb at Method Road at 2:00 p.m. The Wolfpack (5-6-3, 1-4-1 ACC) will only have one other home contest after today's game, while the Bulldogs (3-13-1, 3-6 Atlantic Sun) are 2-0-1 over their last three outings.
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Turnesa Hangs on in Miami, Earns 2008 TOUR card

After a full season of talking about his famous relatives, former NC State men's golfer Marc Turnesa finally made history of his own on Sunday with his victory at the Miccosukee Championship — the final full-field event of the season on the Nationwide Tour.
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Tom O

NC State head football coach Tom O'Brien will review Saturday's big win over Virginia and preview this week's game at Miami tonight on his weekly radio show from 8-9 p.m. The show will again originate from the Wolfpack Sports Network studios in downtown Raleigh.
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