XXL’s share price rose significantly on the Oslo Stock Exchange after Britain’s Frasers Group acquired 117 million shares in the troubled Norwegian sporting goods chain on Tuesday, now owning 162 million shares, which – according to E24 – equals 9.75 percent of the total shares and 12.16 percent of the votes in XXL, thus being the second largest owner. Venture capital company Altor remains the largest owner of XXL with 46.5 percent of the capital and 33.3 percent of the votes. Half an hour of trading after the announcement of the stake acquisition, the market reacted positively, and the XXL share price rose by more than 50 percent.
Frasers Group owns, among others, the sports store chain Sports Direct, the shopping center chain House of Fraser, the sporting goods brand Everlast, the sportswear chain USC and the bicycle store chain Evans Cycles. Frasers Group has recently acquired small stakes in several companies, including fashion retailer Boohoo, online retailer Asos and electronics chain Currys. The group was founded in 1982 by Mike Ashley, who stepped down from the board last fall but still holds a majority stake in the company.
