Groupe Royer has finally reached an agreement for the acquisition of Noël Soccer, the subsidiary of the Noël group that holds the Umbro license for France. Noël is known in the shoe market primarily for its Sledgers and Babybotte brands. As previously reported, a French court pronounced the insolvency of Noël on Dec. 8, followed a few days later by the insolvency of Babybotte. Noël attributed its problems to a big drop in its sales of military shoes, adding that its failure to negotiate the sale of Noël Soccer had created a cash squeeze.

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