JD Sports to fully acquire Sprinter chain

JD Sports will be the sole owner of Iberian Sports Retail Group (ISRG) after acquiring the remaining 49.98% of the shares, which were held by Balaiko Firaja Invest (19.99%) and Sonae Holdings (29.99%).

The acquisition will be carried out through an investment of 500.1 million euro, using the group’s available cash resources. The transaction is expected to be completed in October.

The company recognises the potential to continue developing the Sprinter and Sport Zone brands, in direct competition with the giant, Decathlon, and the ISRG team in Iberia will play an important role in the growth of the JD brand both in Iberia and in other geographic regions.

Currently, ISRG operates a network of 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. In addition, ISRG owns a 98% stake in the Deporvillage online business and a 50.1% stake in the Bodytone fitness equipment business.

Régis Schultz, Group CEO, states: ” At our Capital Markets Event held earlier in the year, we emphasised the benefits of having strong complementary concepts to support our ‘JD first’ global growth strategy. ISRG is a company of great successful and one of the leaders of sports retail in Iberia. Bringing the two businesses closer together, there is significant potential to accelerate growth.”

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