Mossimo Founder Agrees to Buy Rest of Company for $5 a Share

Mossimo Inc., which licenses clothing for men and women to Target Corp., said Thursday that founder Mossimo Giannulli had agreed to buy the 35% of the design company he didn’t already own for $5 a share in cash.

The price values the stake at about $27.5 million, based on the number of shares outstanding as of Aug. 11. Giannulli will begin a tender for the shares in about two weeks, the Santa Monica-based company said.

Mossimo Inc. would be combined with Giannulli’s Mossimo Holding Corp. Giannulli on Aug. 16 withdrew an offer to buy the shares at $4, saying he would not increase his bid to the stock’s then-current trading levels, which had reached $5.72 the previous day.

On Thursday the company’s stock rose 1 cent to $4.99. The shares have risen 44% year to date.

Piper Jaffray & Co. was Giannulli’s financial advisor. Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin advised Mossimo’s board. CIT Group Inc. will provide about $22 million to fund the purchase, pay related fees and provide additional funding.