Billabong's share price slumps as deal talks fail, profits downgraded Just like surfer Julian Wilson at the Billabong Rio Pro surfing competition, Billabong is heading for a wipeout. EMBATTLED surf, skate and skiwear company Billabong has failed to reach a takeover deal with either of two US-based private equity groups but said it was continuing to negotiate over a possible sale off some of its assets. While "change of control discussions" had concluded, Billabong said it was continuing to discuss "proposals presented to the company for alternative refinancing and asset sale transactions" with US private equity funds Altamont Capital Partners and Sycamore Partners. The company also confirmed it was looking to sell 70-strong Canadian retail chain West 49, which it purchased just three years ago for $91million as part of an ill-fated push into retail in the country. New York-based boutique investment bank Financo is advising Billabong on the sale of the business, which involves parties other than Sycamore and Altamont, a person familiar with the matter said. The proceeds of the refinancing and asset sales would be used to fully repay Billabong's syndicated debt facilities, which were $279m at December 31. "The refinancing is intended to provide the company with a comprehensive solution and an appropriate capital structure, allowing it to continue its reform agenda," chairman Ian Pollard said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange. It's our intention to conclude these discussions as soon as possible while aggressively reducing costs across all of our global operations. Jordan Rogers, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said: "Billabong's balance sheet is again in a fragile position. We don't view the private equity firms as reliable debt providers. Billabong's fortunes have tumbled rapidly as the high Australian dollar made overseas sales less profitable, debts used to fund its expansion became burdensome and its core brands appeared to have lost touch with its youthful counterculture roots. The retailer, which has been actively dealing with takeover approaches since February last year, plans to restructure its business by culling underperforming brands and stores while consolidating its product range and centralising management of its three global divisions. The company today also announced a profit downgrade - its fourth since December 2012 - in which it blamed poor sales in its Australian retail division and higher-than-expected losses from its internet retailing venture SurfStitch. Billabong now forecasts earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between $67m and $74m, before one-off items and down from previous guidance for a result of between $74m and $81m. "While Australian wholesale is on-plan, our performance in retail is below last year," the comapny said, with sales down 5.4 per cent over the financial year to date, excluding the impact of store closures. Billabong's shares, suspended since last month, plunged by as much as 58 per cent to 19 cents each on opening before settling at 25.5 cents, taking the company's value to just under $120m, down from the near-$220m it was worth before today's announcement. Just over a year ago the company's founder Gordon Merchant rejected a $3.30-per-share offer from another private equity firm, TPG Capital, saying at the time that even $4 per share would not be enough. Both the Sycamore and Altamont consortia had made indicative offers of $1.10 a share to secure the right to scrutinise Billabong's books. Additional reporting: AAP and Dow Jones Newswires