(Reuters) - The founder of Lululemon Athletica has turned to Goldman Sachs as he seeks a shake-up of the yoga retailer's board of directors and may consider options including a proxy fight or joining a private equity firm in a buyout, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The newspaper reported on its website that founder Dennis "Chip" Wilson is working with bankers at Goldman and is in the process of negotiating the terms of their arrangement as he looks to shake up the board.
Wilson is working on building a team of advisors that will likely include Goldman, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. The team should be finalised within the coming week, the source said.
The Lululemon founder is looking at all options to assert further control but has not determined his course of action, said the source, adding that Wilson's decision is unlikely for at least another couple of weeks.
Lululemon's board of directors has sought advice from bankers in response to Wilson's pressure, according to the Journal.
Goldman declined to comment. A representative for Wilson was not immediately available for comment. Last Wednesday, Wilson, who has a 27 percent stake in Lululemon, lashed out at the retailer's board, saying its new chairman and another director were too focused on short-term growth.
The company's shares dropped sharply last week after it cut financial forecasts and warned that second-quarter sales were weak.
A Lululemon spokeswoman said that the board and management team are "relentlessly innovating to drive global expansion and create value for Lululemon shareholders."
(Reporting by Euan Rocha in Toronto and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Nick Zieminski and Paul Simao)