What does this mean?
Sports Direct has managed to buy the US sports clothing and outdoor equipment chains Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports in a huge $101m (£79m) deal.
This means Sports Direct now has hold of 50 stores selling sports and casual wear, as well as camping equipment.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of May, it will also provide Sports Direct with a “footprint” in US bricks-and-mortar retail, giving it a “platform from which to grow US online sales”.
In the year to January 28, Bob’s and Eastern Outfitters managed to see losses of $26m. The assets of the firms amounted to $126m.
Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown said Sports Direct had managed to pick up a “bargain out of bankruptcy proceedings”.
He also added that unlike some of the company’s previous investments the “rationale for today’s deal is pretty clear. Eastern Mountain will serve as a starter pack, providing the group with feet on the ground from which to launch a wider US strategy, a strategy that looks set to be led by online sales.”
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