Ocean Pacific Finds a Buyer in Investment Group : Agreement: The sale of the Tustin company is not expected to close for another month; financial terms and purchaser’s identity are not disclosed.

Ocean Pacific Sunwear Ltd., licensers and manufacturers of the nation’s best-selling brands of surf wear, said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell the company to a West Coast investment group.

Financial terms of the deal and the identity of the buyer were not disclosed.

“We’re pleased with the financial strength of the West Coast investor group and we think they have very solid plans about going forward with the company,” said Mike Balmages, senior executive vice president.

Negotiations have been under way since at least as early as last summer, and the two parties signed a letter of intent earlier this week, Balmages said. The deal, which is subject to several conditions, is not expected to close for another month, he said.

Tustin-based OP, with the brands Ocean Pacific, Newport Blue, Jimmy ‘Z and Hydro Light, has annual sales of about $300 million.

Ocean Pacific has been beset by a sea of recent troubles. Its top celebrity endorser, champion surfer Tom Curren, has removed the company’s logo from his surfboards. The move reportedly angered OP, which had paid handsomely for the endorsement, and led to rumors that a split is imminent. Curren lives in France and could not be reached for comment.

Privately held OP was sued last March by its largest shareholder, who charged that the company was “hopelessly insolvent” and alleged that her fellow partners had acted “fraudulently, maliciously and oppressively” in their dealings involving the company.

Elaine M. Ornitz, who owns 30% of the partnership, alleged in the lawsuit that only a sale or a massive infusion of cash could save the company from bankruptcy. The company denied that it was in serious financial trouble at the time. The lawsuit is ongoing, and Ornitz’s lawyers were unavailable for comment.

Chief Executive Officer Jim Jenks and a partner, Chuck Buttner, founded the company in the early 1970s with a line of baggy swimming trunks for surfers.

The new trunks were popular with surfers because of their loose fit, which did not tear as easily or limit their movements like conventional, tight-fitting swimwear.

Ocean Pacific later branched out into “California lifestyle apparel,” putting its familiar logo on clothes designed for volleyball, skateboarding and snow boarding. Its Newport Blue label was developed for older beach-goers, and Hydro Light was a line of wet suits for surfers.

Locally, Ocean Pacific is known for its annual OP Pro surfing contest at Huntington Beach, one of that sport’s premier events.

Jenks, who retired several years after starting the company, returned to the firm in 1988 after the sudden death of company President Larry Ornitz, the late husband of Elaine Ornitz.

Jenks put the company up for sale, but no buyers emerged. He then took the firm off the market and said he would work to revive the company.