Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has moved to tighten its grip on international retail assets with a A$316mn (£166mn) bid to acquire full control of Australian footwear retailer Accent, in the latest step in an aggressive overseas expansion strategy.
The London-listed group, which already owns a 22.9% stake in Accent, has offered 65 Australian cents per share for the remainder of the business it does not hold, valuing the company at roughly A$1.4bn on a fully diluted basis. Accent shares jumped more than 10% in early Sydney trading following the approach.
The offer comes after a period of softer trading at Accent, which operates about 900 stores across Australia and New Zealand and has reported weakening like-for-like sales in recent updates.
Frasers first built its stake in 2024 and has since steadily increased its holding, deepening operational links with the group through a strategic partnership connected to the Sports Direct brand.
Accent has agreed to roll out Sports Direct-branded stores across Australia and New Zealand, with plans for about 50 outlets over the next six years, underscoring the growing commercial overlap between the two businesses.
Frasers, majority-owned by Mike Ashley, has pursued an increasingly assertive acquisition strategy across global retail markets, often taking significant minority stakes before moving to full control. The Accent proposal follows its recent offer for German fashion house Hugo Boss, where it has built a stake of roughly 26% and proposed a €1.98bn bid for the remainder of the company.
Analysts say the group’s approach reflects a broader attempt to build scale, diversify earnings geographically and secure control of distribution channels for its Sports Direct-led retail ecosystem.
However, the strategy has raised questions about capital allocation and execution risk, particularly as Frasers continues to deploy cash across multiple jurisdictions and retail categories amid uneven consumer demand.
Accent’s board is expected to review the proposal, while investors will be watching closely for indications of whether Frasers intends to pursue a fully integrated international retail platform or continue its pattern of incremental stake-building followed by outright bids.
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