West 49 Inc. mails materials for special meeting to consider acquisition by
Billabong

Toronto Stock Exchange Symbol: WXX

BURLINGTON, ON, July 28 /CNW/ - West 49 Inc. (TSX: WXX) (the "Company") announced today that it has mailed to its securityholders a notice of special meeting of securityholders, a management information circular and other materials for its special meeting of securityholders to be held on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. (Toronto time), at which the Company's securityholders are to vote on a special resolution approving the previously announced transaction whereby Billabong International Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Aurora Inc., will, subject to certain conditions, acquire all of the outstanding common shares and preferred shares of the Company for cash at a price of C$1.30 per share (and holders of the Company's preferred shares will receive accrued and unpaid dividends on their preferred shares). The special meeting is scheduled to be held in the Main Boardroom, 53rd Floor of the offices of Stikeman Elliott LLP, 5300 Court Commerce West, 199 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario.

The management information circular describes, among other things, the particulars of the proposed transaction with Billabong and the manner in which securityholders may vote at the special meeting. The Company's board of directors, based on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors, has unanimously recommended that securityholders vote in favour of the transaction. Certain significant securityholders together with the Company's board of directors, who collectively hold approximately 56% of the outstanding common and preferred shares, have entered into lock-up agreements with Billabong pursuant to which they have committed to vote their securities in favour of this transaction, subject to certain terms and conditions. Copies of the management information circular and other meeting materials are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Securityholders are encouraged to read the management information circular and other meeting materials in their entirety and to vote.

As previously announced, the Company's board of directors fixed the close of business on July 9, 2010 as the record date for the determination of securityholders entitled to notice of the special meeting and any adjournment or postponement thereof, and to vote at the special meeting. Securityholders becoming securityholders of record after that time will not be entitled to vote at the special meeting, or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the Company's securityholders at the special meeting. Completion of the transaction is also subject to certain other customary conditions and is expected to close in late August or early September 2010.

Corporate Profile

West 49 Inc. is a leading Canadian specialty retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment related to the youth action sports lifestyle. The Company's stores, which are primarily mall-based, carry a variety of high-performance, premium brand name and private label products that fulfill the lifestyle needs of identified target markets, primarily tweens and teens. At May 1, 2010, the Company operated 138 stores in nine provinces, under the banners West 49, Billabong, Off The Wall, Amnesia/Arsenic and D-Tox. The Company's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WXX. The Company has approximately 64 million common shares outstanding.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements, which reflect the board and management's current beliefs and expectations and which involve assumptions about expected future events or results that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that assumptions and other forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Many factors could cause actual future results, conditions or events to differ materially from the results or outcomes expressed, including risks related to competition, changes in demographic trends, changes in consumer preferences and discretionary spending patterns, changes in business and economic conditions, human resource matters, legal proceedings, challenges to intellectual property rights, availability of credit facilities, and changes in laws, regulations, and accounting policies and practices. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company includes in publicly available documents filed from time to time with securities commissions and the Toronto Stock Exchange, a thorough discussion of the risk factors that can cause anticipated outcomes to differ from actual outcomes. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this news release only, it should not be relied upon as of any other date, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise this information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as expressly required by law. There can be no assurance that the Billabong transaction, or any other transaction, will be completed.

For further information: Rhonda Biddix, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, West 49 Inc., [phone] ext. 224, E-mail: [email protected]; Lawrence Chamberlain, Investor Relations, The Equicom Group Inc., [phone] ext. 257, E-mail: [email protected]