Sports Direct moves into Austria and the Baltics
30/05/2013
It has acquired a 51% stake in Sports Eybl & Sports Experts (EAG), a family-owned Austrian company, established 80 years ago and a founding member of Intersport Austria. It has a 25% market share in the country, and as of 31 August 2012, had assets of €166 million.
Sports Direct has also acquired a 60% stake in Sportland International Group, the largest sporting goods retailer in the Baltic states with a turnover of €61.6 million and 80 stores. Sports Direct did not disclose how much it paid for the company, which operates the Sportland, Sportland Outlet, Timberland, O'Neill, Nike and Nike Outlet retail chains in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as being a distributor for Nike.
Dave Forsey, chief executive of Sports Direct, said: “Expected benefits from these investments include increased scale for our international business, growing international awareness of our group brands and additional expertise in specialist product categories such as winter sports.”
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