JD Sports takes full control of Iberian Sports Retail Group
JD Sports is to pay €500 million to acquire the remaining 49.98% shares in Iberian Sports Retail Group as part of its expansion plans.
The purchase from Balaiko Firaja Invest and Sonae Holdings will be funded from the group’s existing available cash resources.
The move will give JD 100% ownership of the business.
Iberian Sports Retail currently operates more than 460 stores across Europe including JD in Iberia, Sprinter in Spain, Sport Zone in Portugal and Aktiesport and Perry Sport in the Netherlands. The company also has a 98% holding in the Deporvillage online business and a 50.1% holding in the Bodytone fitness equipment business.
In a statement, JD Sports said it believes there are opportunities to develop Sprinter and Sport Zone and that Iberian Sports Retail will play an important part in the development of the JD fascia in Iberia.
Régis Schultz, chief executive of JD Sports, said: “At our capital markets event earlier in the year, we emphasised the benefit of having strong complementary concepts to support our ‘JD first’ global growth strategy. ISRG is a highly successful business and one of the leading players in sports retail in Iberia. By bringing the two businesses closer together, there is significant potential for accelerating growth.
“We sincerely thank the minority shareholders, Balaiko and Sonae, for their important contributions to the business during our time as partners.”
In May, JD Sports announced that it was to acquire French sportswear retailer Courir which operates 313 stores across six countries in Europe.
