Investors, CEO to Purchase North Face for $212.5 Million

North Face Inc., a maker of outerwear and camping accessories, will sell the company to private investors, including its chief executive, and restructure some of its debt.

San Leandro, Calif.-based North Face will pay shareholders about $212.5 million, or $17 a share, a 32% premium over Friday’s closing price of $12.88 on Nasdaq. The company had 12.5 million shares outstanding as of Nov. 10, according to a regulatory filing.

Chief Executive James Fifield and Los Angeles-based merchant bank Leonard Green & Partners will assume control of North Face, the company said in a statement. Fifield purchased $14 million in shares of the company after he was hired as chief executive in May.

North Face also said Chase Manhattan Corp. has agreed to arrange $300 million in debt refinancing in connection with the transaction.

Company officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Shares of North Face have fallen 55% during the past year. They touched a 52-week low of $9.13 on Oct. 8. The company went public in July 1996 at $14 a share.

North Face makes a variety of outerwear, snow sports apparel and camping accessories, including tents, sleeping bags and mountaineering boots.

The company is in the process of relocating its headquarters to Carbondale, Colo.