Lafuma: talks with S Korea's E-Land collapse

French outdoor clothing and equipment maker Lafuma said Monday that talks with E-Land on the South Korean apparel retailer's acquisition offer have collapsed. "The very preliminary discussions held with E-Land following its expression of interest did not reveal sufficient synergies to achieve a step change in Lafuma's development strategy, notably on the international front, and in its capital," Lafuma said in a statement. Lafuma confirmed last month it was in talks with E-Land after receiving an expression of interest from the South Korean company. The bi-weekly magazine La Lettre de L'Expansion had reported that E-Land was seeking to "take control" of Lafuma, with an offer for the group's entire shareholding at 35 euros per share. That reported offer, which was twice that of Lafuma's trading price on the stock market before the talks became public, valued the French group at 122 million euros. Lafuma's share price had risen following news of the talks but had sunk back to 22.20 euros. The maker of surf brand Oxbow and trekking marques Millet and Eider had said in July that it wanted to focus on its international expansion, notably in Asia. Lafuma said it would continue implementing that strategy in particular "developing group subsidiaries and partnerships in Asia and in China." Lafuma recorded a sales dip of 0.3 percent to 248.7 million euros for its fiscal year that ended in September. It has yet to release its annual earnings figures, but it earned 0.9 million euros in the first half of its reporting year. Lafuma recorded profits of 3.9 million euros in its 2010-11 fiscal year.