Ocean Pacific Halts Talks on Selling Firm : Merchandising: Tustin surf wear supplier’s strong performance during recession may have increased its value. It is no longer for sale.

Four days before the sale of Ocean Pacific Sunwear Ltd. was supposed to close, the Tustin surf wear supplier said it has broken off talks with the potential buyer and that the company is no longer for sale.

In a statement Monday, OP said it broke off talks with Sequoia Associates Ltd., a Menlo Park venture capital firm that had reached a tentative agreement to buy OP last month. Financial terms of the deal were never disclosed.

Though OP Chairman Jim Jenks declined to say why the sale fell through, he suggested in a statement that OP’s surprisingly strong performance during the recession may have increased the company’s value.

“We were unable to reach agreement on some major aspects of the transaction,” Jenks said. “When we considered selling Ocean Pacific some nine months ago, it seemed appropriate at the time. However, Ocean Pacific has maintained a strong market share throughout the recession.

“We have weathered economic conditions substantially better than most companies in the industry,” Jenks added, “and we look forward to proceeding on a healthy, business-as-usual basis.”

A Sequoia spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Michael Balmages, a lawyer for OP, declined to discuss the reasons for the failed deal, saying it was “private business” and that the two companies had agreed not to make any details public. But he did say the tentative sale agreement “had left a lot of details to be worked out, including payment terms.”

OP Vice President Bonnie Crail said that despite prolonged negotiations to sell the company, there have been few defections among OP’s 175 employees, including its 100-person sales force. “Everyone has stuck it through,” Crail said.

The company’s business, meanwhile, has improved with increased shipments to retailers. She attributed the increase, in part, to a stronger base of licensees--the companies authorized to manufacture and distribute apparel bearing the OP name and logo.

“Our fortunes . . . look better than they have in a long time,” she said.