Lululemon Athletica founder Dennis "Chip" Wilson will sell half his stake in the company as part of a truce that averts a potentially messy battle at the maker of yoga apparel and other exercise gear. Under the deal announced Thursday, investment firm Advent International will pay Wilson $845 million for 20.1 million shares. That will whittle Wilson's stake in Lululemon from nearly 28 percent to just under 14 percent. Wilson had lashed out at Lululemon's board in June, raising the possibility of an attempt to oust some directors or a hostile takeover attempt. Advent instead will get two seats on Lululemon's board. Lululemon has been trying to bounce back from a backlash triggered last year by yoga pants that were so sheer that they revealed a little too much. Fixing the problem cost the company millions and made investors question quality control. The company's shares have fallen by more than 40 percent since the March 2013 uproar. Wilson aggravated Lululemon's headaches late last year when he suggested in a TV interview that the pants "don't work for some women's bodies." He later apologized.
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-The Associated Press