JD Sports crosses Finish Line in the race to become global player
The takeover of an American footwear chain has marked the first step of what JD Sports Fashion hopes will become a successful march on a wider global market.
The sportswear retailer has struck a £396m conditional deal to buy Finish Line, which it expects to complete in June.
The takeover will add a network of more than 1,100 outlets, comprising 556 standalone Finish Line stores across the United States and Puerto Rico and 375 branded and 188 unbranded outlets selling sports shoes at Macy’s, the department stores chain.
The takeover of an American footwear chain has marked the first step of what JD Sports Fashion hopes will become a successful march on a wider global market.
The sportswear retailer has struck a £396m conditional deal to buy Finish Line, which it expects to complete in June.
The takeover will add a network of more than 1,100 outlets, comprising 556 standalone Finish Line stores across the United States and Puerto Rico and 375 branded and 188 unbranded outlets selling sports shoes at Macy’s, the department stores chain.
JD was founded in 1981 in Bury, Greater Manchester, and has seen off rivals including Sports Direct and JJB Sports, which collapsed in 2012, to become Britain’s largest sports retailer by market value. JD, which is named after its founders John Wardle and David Makin, now has about 1,500 shops and is valued at £3.3bn.
The FTSE 250 firm’s boss vowed to “sprinkle some of the JD stardust” on Finish Line, which has 556 standalone stores and more than 500 concessions in Macy’s department stores, where it has has exclusive rights to sell sports shoes according to the Telegraph.
Click here for the full Times article (£)
Click here for the full Telegraph article
Click here for the full FT article (£)
