A $150m sale hands day-to-day control of Sports Direct Malaysia to MAP Active. In Australia, Frasers is pushing the opposite way, building toward full ownership of licensee Accent Group against the board’s resistance.
Frasers Group has agreed to sell its entire stake in Sports Direct Malaysia to MAP Active for about $150 million, subject to completion adjustments. Rather than a clean exit, the deal reshapes the relationship: MAP Active will be responsible for growing the Sports Direct brand in Malaysia under a long term agreement, while Frasers keeps an ongoing income stream from the business.
The transaction builds on MAP Active’s existing Sports Direct footprint across Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The two companies are targeting a combined network of more than 350 stores across the region over the long term.
A contrasting approach in Australia
The Malaysia sale comes alongside a very different move by Frasers in Australia and New Zealand, where the group is seeking outright control of license partner Accent Group rather than handing over the reins. Frasers first entered Accent’s share register in August 2024, buying a 14.65 percent stake, and has since built that position to about 22.9 percent, according to an ASX filing and Accent’s own disclosures. It launched an on market takeover bid on June 15, with the offer period running through July.
Accent holds a 25 year license to operate Sports Direct in Australia and New Zealand. Under the group’s 2030 Strategic Growth Plan announced in May, Accent is targeting eight Sports Direct stores by December 2026, 30 within three years and 50 to 100 over time. Accent’s independent board committee has rejected Frasers’ takeover approach, arguing the offer undervalues the business and that Sports Direct in Australia and New Zealand is a strategic asset Frasers is well placed to understand given its existing commercial ties to the brand.
