JD Sports Fashion Plc has announced a proposed acquisition of the French-based athletic footwear chain, Courir. On 8 May, 2023, the JD Group entered into exclusive negotiations with the owners of Groupe Courir S.A.S with regards to the acquisition of 100 percent of the issued share capital of Courir for an enterprise value of €520 million.
In accordance with French law, Courir management will now commence consultation processes with its relevant employee representative bodies prior to being able to enter into a binding sale and purchase agreement. Completion of the acquisition is conditional on receipt of merger control approval and is not expected before the second half of 2023.
Based in France, Courir has 313 stores across six countries. A further 36 stores trade as Courir under franchise agreements in North West Africa, Middle East and French overseas territories and two stores trade as Naked in Denmark.
After deducting net debt of €195 million, the amount payable at completion, subject to certain adjustments, would be €325 million which would be funded through available cash resources. The net debt of €195 million in Courir principally constitutes existing funding lines of approximately €210 million which would be refinanced at completion, according to the announcement from JD.
The senior management team and operational infrastructure of Courir would be retained and it is the intention that Courir would maintain its identity and would run autonomously from JD’s French operations.
The move is part of JD’s growth strategy as announced in Feb 2023, under its new CEO Régis Schultz. Said Schultz: “Securing greater control over the long-term development of JD and prioritizing the development of the JD brand is a key pillar in our growth strategy in Europe. It will give us simpler decision making which will allow us to use our assets with more efficiency. At the same time, it will considerably simplify the group operations.”
As part of the announcement, JD also announced it is reviewing options to simplify the shareholdings in a number of its subsidiary businesses across Europe with a view to accelerating the development opportunities.
The JD Sports group will announce its 2022 full year results on May 17.
