Blackstone : buying outdoor firm Wolfskin

US investment fund Blackstone said on Thursday that it had acquired the German outdoors clothing and equipment company Jack Wolfskin. A source close to the deal told AFP it was worth around 700 million euros ($990 million), but a final figure is only expected once the transaction has been completed next month. In 2005, Barclays Private Equity and Quadriga Capital bought the brand, which uses a wolf paw print as its logo, for about 90 million euros. Wolfskin boss Manfred Hell is to leave the company after running it for 25 years, a statement said, but no successor was identified. After gaining a strong reputation in Germany following its founding in 1981, the company has developed operations in Europe and is now looking to expand in Asia and North America. Based in the Taunus hills north of Frankfurt, Wolfskin employs around 460 workers and posted 2010 sales of 304.2 million euros, a gain of 21 percent from the previous year.