JD Sports Fashion to acquire £1.3bn-revenue US retailer

JD Sports Fashion Plc has entered into a nine-figure deal to acquire American retailer The Finish Line, Inc.

The Bury-headquartered company is looking to pay $558m (around £396m) for Finish Line, which employs 13,000 people and operates from a network of 556 stores across the US and Puerto Rico.

The company also runs 563 concessions stands (branded and unbranded) within Macy’s department stores.

In the year to February 25 2017, Finish Line achieved a pre-tax profit of $54m (£38m) against revenues of $1.84bn (£1.3bn).

Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD, said: “We are extremely excited to be joining up with Finish Line, a well-established US operator.

“The acquisition represents an excellent opportunity for JD to establish its market leading multi-brand proposition in the world’s largest athleisure market.”

He added: “It immediately offers a major presence in the US, a clear next step to further increase our global scale.”

Speaking further, Mr Cowgill said Finish Line shares many similarities to JD, particularly for its mixture of a “strong bricks and mortar offering” and “well-invested digital platform”.

He continued: “We are looking forward to working with Finish Line’s experienced management team to bring best in class retail theatre to the US. This is a landmark day for JD and will be transformational for the business.”

Finish Line is headquartered in Indianapolis.

The Manchester office of law firm Addleshaw Goddard (AG) advised JD Sports Fashion on the acquisition and related funding.

Partner Roger Hart led the AG team, which included Martin O’Shea, Rabia Burton, Rachael Norris and Caroline Gray.

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