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’Sports Direct swoops for Nevisport
The Sports Direct group of the UK sporting goods entrepreneur Mike Ashley is understood to have made yet another acquisition, buying Nevisport, a Scottish outdoor sports chain. Mr Ashley, who has infuriated the City by failing to provide detailed financial information,
Face-off as analyst slashes UK’s Sports Direct
The fraught relationship between the City of London and Mike Ashley, of UK sporting equipment retailer Sports Direct, threatens to deteriorate even further after a leading analyst slashed his valuation of the business by £330m on Thursday,
UK retailers hard hit by poor summer
UK interest rate rises and the wet summer took their toll on a trio of high street retailers on Tuesday as JJB Sports issued a profit warning, French Connection said sales were falling and Next predicted that consumers would tighten their belts further.
Sports Direct’s ‘bizarre’ stake-buying
Sports Direct’s fractious relationship with the City of London took another twist Monday when the retailer disclosed share buying in Adidas and Umbro but refused to give details of the company’s own performance.
UK’s Sports Direct faces pay revolt
Sports Direct, the discount retailer controlled by Mike Ashley, is heading for another stormy public outing after shareholders were encouraged on Wednesday to oppose the directors’ pay award at next month’s annual meeting.
UK’s Sports Direct doubles Amer stake
Sports Direct, the sporting goods retailer, has taken the market by surprise again, with investors learning it had more than doubled its stake in a Finnish sportswear group. The retailer scrambled to issue a statement on Wednesday,
Ashley to City – you’re a “bunch of cry babies”
In honour of Mike Ashley’s latest charm offensive in the City of London, we’re extending the deadline on last week’s caption competition for those of you inspired by the Sports Direct founder’s words of comfort in the wake of his company’s tanking share price.
UK’s Sports Direct buys Adidas stake
Sports Direct, the sporting goods retailer, has declared an almost £50m stake in Adidas, the German sportswear brand, only two days after a profit warning slashed the retailer’s stock market value by almost a quarter.
Caption competition: Sports Direct
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Sports Direct’s ‘comedy show’
Shares in Sports Direct, the sporting goods retailer, on Tuesday tumbled about 25 per cent to a new low of 147p, less than half their value when the company floated just five months ago, after the first full-year results since its February float and a second profit warning.
Sports Direct – £1bn down and counting
Deeply annoying thing #1. Typing the name of a £1.4bn listed company into your preferred search engine and not immediately being able to find their corporate site. No, I would not like to purchase the latest luminous yellow,
Sports Direct faces fight for Everlast
Sports Direct International, the UK sportswear retailer, could face an obstacle to its acquisition of Everlast Worldwide, the US boxing brand, after rival bidder Hidary Group said it was exploring legal avenues to block the sale.
Ashley ups the ante for Everlast
Everlast Worldwide, the American boxing equipment maker, has recommended the latest offer from British sports retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. The terms, pitched at $33 per share, are aimed at trumping a rival purchase attempt by Hidary Investments.
Not so fast, Ashley
And everyone thought he had it in the bag. But no.
Hidary, the New York-based group everyone thought had been blown out the water with Sports Direct’s $31 a share offer for boxing brand Everlast, is back with a cash bid of $31.50 a share.
Sports Direct advisers are onto something good
It has always been something of a puzzle why the likes of Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Citigroup were prepared to take the reputational risk of working with the unpredictable entrepreneur Mike Ashley.
Mike Ashley turns his pedals towards Evans
Mike Ashley, the unconventional entrepreneur behind Sports Direct International, is looking to acquire Evans Cycles for about £35m. If the bid is successful, the cycling chain would join a selection of other popular brands,
Sports Direct buys into Amer
Sports Direct International, the retail group controlled by unpredictable entrepreneur Mike Ashley, has acquired a stake in Amer Sports, the Helsinki-listed owner of the Wilson and Salomon brands. The 4.9 per cent stake cost Sports Direct €58.4m (£40m) financed via an existing credit facility.
Ashley to buy Newcastle chair’s stake
Mike Ashley, the sports wear billionaire, was on Wednesday night poised to take control of Newcastle United after winning over Freddy Shepherd, the football club’s chairman. The £133.1m takeover appeared to be going ahead after Mr Shepherd agreed to accept the 100p-a-share offer for his 28 per cent stake.
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley does it again
Mike Ashley, the intensely private yet increasingly active sportswear billionaire and founder of Sports Direct International, has sold his holding in Adidas, making tens of millions of euros from a rally that he sparked with his stake-building in March.
Sports Direct chairman in shock exit
Sports Direct International’s brief but volatile life as a public company took another turn for the worse on Thursday with the resignation of the sports retailer’s chairman. The shock departure of David Richardson after just three months pushed the shares 10p lower to 205p.
Magpies Direct? Ashley bids £133m for club
Mike Ashley, head of Sports Direct International, on Wednesday announced a £133.1m cash offer for Newcastle United, nicknamed the Magpies, after agreeing to buy out Sir John Hall, the club’s largest shareholder.
Ashley splashes some cash on Newcastle
When Mike Ashley was asked what he would do with the cash raised from floating Sports Direct International in February, he said he hadn’t a clue. Now it turns out he wants to buy Newcastle United.
Mr Ashley got the better of the City when he sold a chunk of SDI – owner of the Sports World chain – to institutional investors for nearly £1bn just before the markets took a bath.
Onward and downward for Sports Direct
The dismal performance of Sports Direct International continued Monday, with the sportswear retailer closing at another low. The shares, which listed at 300p in February, ended 3.5 per cent lower at 206½p,
Sports Direct suffers further setbacks
Sports Direct, the sports retailer that made a controversial debut on the stock market earlier this year, suffered another blow to its credibility on Thursday after warning that sales growth had slowed.
Sports Direct IPO adviser does U-turn
Analysts at Citigroup have downgraded their profit forecasts for discount retailer Sports Direct just weeks after the investment bank helped float the company on the stock market, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Ashley to tackle Umbro over England footie shirts
Mike Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct, has created a potential dispute with Umbro after telling City analysts that he will not be forced to meet demanding stock quotas with the kit supplier, despite a prospectus pledge to do so,
Sports Direct struggles in unrestricted trade
Shares in Sports Direct International, the retail group that floated last month, started unrestricted trading on Thursday, closing the day at a discount of 10 per cent to their issue price. Their lacklustre performance since the £2.2bn IPO on February 27 prompted confirmation from Merrill Lynch,
Investors want Sports Direct to play ball
Investors and analysts in the City are putting pressure on Sports Direct, the retailer that floated last month, to reform the unconventional way it deals with the City. In a tumultuous month since the £2bn flotation,
Markets live transcript 27 Mar 2007
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 11:52 on 27 Mar 2007. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy (PM) Neil Hume (NH)
PM: Welcome to Markets Live, Alphaville’s daily discussion of what’s moving and why.
Billionaire Ashley buys Adidas stake and moves on M and M
Mike Ashley, the entrepreneur whose stated aim is to create the world’s biggest sports retailer, has bought a stake in Adidas, the German sportswear group. The billionaire, who last month raised £929m with the flotation of his Sports Direct retail empire,