After all the speculations of whether Frasers Group will buy Dave Whelan’s DW Sports or not, finally the British sports good retailer has bought the fitness chain for £37 million.
Also Read: Frasers Group to place £30 million bid on DW Sports
The deal saves 922 jobs for DW Sports, but it also means that half of the company’s jobs are still at risk.
Reportedly, the price of the acquisition deal may climb to nearly £44 million if Frasers Group buys some property lease holdings. One has to see when that happens!
The deal says that 43 of DW’s 73 gyms and 31 of its 50 stores will now be transferred to Frasers Group.
While the remaining stores and gyms remain closed, Frasers Group (formerly Sports Direct International plc) may reopen them anytime in future.
The deal, however, does not include the name of the DW business and intellectual property.
Frasers Group has been known for taking over struggling retailers, but what makes this deal noteworthy is that DW Sports was once a strong rival to Sports Direct.
“It is an acquisition that’s perhaps even more appealing,” further substantiated Susannah Streeter, senior investments and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
It is worth noting that only last week Frasers Group had warned of store closures if landlords did not agree to its demand of shifting rents to sales-based agreements.
Also Read: Frasers Group warns more store closures; more jobs to be hit
After buying DW Sports, it will be interesting to see Frasers Group’s next move to buy 30 Debenhams stores, which it has been eyeing for some time.
