Lululemon opens way for founder Chip Wilson to sell stake New York

New York — Chip Wilson, the controversial founder of Lululemon Athletic Inc., may well be on the verge of selling his stake in the company, according to numerous reports.



Lululemon, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, filed a 20.1 million share offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing Wilson and his wife to exit their roughly 14% stake. The couple's stake in the company was worth about $1.34 billion, Reuters reported.



Wilson, however, downplayed the news.



“The prospectus supplement filed by Lululemon simply enables Chip Wilson to sell his shares in the future, if he chooses to do so, on the same basis as any other stockholder,” a spokesman for Wilson said in a statement.



Wilson resigned as CEO of Lululemon in 2005, but remained chairman until last May. The last few years have been marked by escalating tension between the outspoken Wilson and the company’s board. Adding fuel to the fire has been Wilson’s involvement in a new retail chain, called Kit & Ace, founded by his wife and son.



The news comes shortly after Lululemon announced that its revenue in the first quarter rose 10% to a better-than-expected $423.5 million.