Dov Charney isn’t the only ousted CEO looking to get back his company. The Wall Street Journal reports that former Lululemon CEO Chip Wilson is now courting private equity firms to raise funds to buy back the brand. Sources say a buyout in this case would be rather difficult as Lululemon is worth quite a great deal of money. Wilson would have to match the company’s $6 billion market capitalization, and find extra change to afford the premium that goes with making such an expensive purchase.
Though Wilson is no longer head honcho at Lululemon, he does retain a position as a director, and is trying to use his pull there to influence changes in the brand’s leadership, with which he has been butting heads as of late. Just last month, he voted against the reelection of chairman Michael Casey and another director, RoAnn Costin, citing his displeasure with the decisions they have been making for the brand as the reason for the downvote.
As of now, Wilson controls 28 percent of Lululemon and if he can pull off this buyout (which he and his people are not commenting on), he will obviously wield significantly more power than he does now. WSJ mentions that last year, former Best Buy CEO Richard Schulze tried to purchase the company back and failed, but he was still reinstated at the company as chairman emeritus. So even if he doesn’t come up with the $6 billion-plus, perhaps there is still a light at the end of the tunnel for Wilson.
