Ocean Pacific Owners Are Quietly Seeking a Buyer

Ocean Pacific, the nation’s leading surf-wear maker, has quietly been put up for sale, a company official confirmed Tuesday.

Tustin-based Ocean Pacific Sunwear Ltd. has hired Goldman Sachs & Co. in Los Angeles to find a potential buyer, said Jim Jenks, OP’s co-founder and vice president who holds about 27% of the privately owned company’s stock.

Jenks declined to disclose the selling price, but indicated that industry estimates of $90 million are too high. The company has annual revenues of about $250 million, he said.

The move to sell the firm follows the death last year of Lawrence D. Ornitz, then OP’s president and chief executive, who owned slightly more than 30% of the firm’s stock. Ornitz’s wife, Elaine, no longer wants to be involved in the business.

A third owner, Robert Driver--who owns roughly 26% of the stock--is now 81, Jenks said, and also is interested in divesting his interest.

“So we thought that maybe now is the time to take our marbles and run,” he said.

The decision to sell was made after a recent meeting among the company’s owners, who also include Hobart Alter, the inventor of the Hobie Cat sailboat, and Tom Hilb, a Denver businessman. Driver, OP’s chairman, said the minority owners agreed to cooperate in any sale.

Jenks said he may or may not retain his ownership interest.

“It depends on who comes in,” he said. “I love the company, but if somebody throws a deal in my face that I can’t refuse, I may get on my boat and go back to Australia.”

So far, one potential buyer which has surfaced is American Marketing Works, the Gardena-based firm that markets Body Glove wet suits, surf and beachwear and accessories. The company also is a licensor and licensee for Speedo, Christian Dior and Gold’s Gym.