UPDATE: A few more details about the bid have come out. It is actually an offer from Altamont Capital Partners who has signed on former Oakley and Nike executive D. Scott Olivet to lead the bid. VF Corp are interested in the Billabong brand only and will take it as part of the deal leaving Element, RVCA, etc. with Altamont. Check the details over here.

VF Corp, the owner of brands like Vans, Reef, Nautica, Timberland and more is set to make a rival offer for Billabong. Billabong is currently under scrutiny by its former head the the Americas, Paul Naude who is trying to buy it. The rival offer does mean that the company might be able to extract a slightly higher price from the bidders, a good thing for the share holders, but the starting points (around $527 million) are considerably lower than the $850 million offered a little over 12 months ago. Check the full story over here.