Filing Flows › Columbia Sportswear (COLM) › Takeover & LBO
Is Columbia Sportswear (COLM) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($87.80 a share) would return a loss of about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. Historically 4.2% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.83× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $87.80 | today's $67.54 plus 30% |
| × shares | 50.9 million | |
| = Equity value | $4.5B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $0 | |
| − Cash | $230M | |
| = Enterprise value | $4.2B | 12.0× EBITDA of $355M |
| Fees | $84.9M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $2.0B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $2.4B | 55% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $3.4B | $355M | $149M | $109M | $1.8B |
| Year 2 | $3.5B | $358M | $141M | $114M | $1.7B |
| Year 3 | $3.5B | $364M | $132M | $122M | $1.6B |
| Year 4 | $3.6B | $372M | $123M | $131M | $1.5B |
| Year 5 | $3.7B | $383M | $113M | $143M | $1.3B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 9.0× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $3.5B | |
| − Debt left | $1.3B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $2.1B | |
| Money multiple | 0.90× | on $2.4B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | −2.1% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $67.54.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $74.29 | 5.0% |
| 20% | $81.05 | 1.0% |
| 30% | $87.80 | −2.1% |
| 40% | $94.56 | −4.8% |
| 50% | $101.31 | −7.1% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $3.4B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $355M | 10.4% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $55.8M | |
| Capital spending | $60.3M | |
| Debt | $0 | |
| Cash | $230M | |
| Share price | $67.54 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows 0.1% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 24% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Columbia Sportswear would cost about $89.49 a share, $4.6B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $81.05 | $4.1B |
| Median | 32.5% | $89.49 | $4.6B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $102.53 | $5.2B |
The odds, from history
Historically 4.2% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.83× the average). Its figures put it in decile 4 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Columbia Sportswear's latest quarter
Columbia Sportswear, Q3 2026: revenue $963M (+2% year over year), operating margin 11.4%, net earnings $84.7M, operating cash flow −$318M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Columbia Sportswear being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Columbia Sportswear?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($87.80 a share) would return a loss of about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%.
What would a takeover of Columbia Sportswear cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Columbia Sportswear would cost about $89.49 a share, $4.6B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.