JD Sports raises £464m to exploit acquisition opportunities

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 4, 2021

Shortly after JD Sports announced it was selling 6% of its shares to raise money for an acquisition warchest, it announced the result of the fundraising. 

It managed to generate £464.2 million by selling over 58 million shares at an issue price of 795p each. That was a discount to the 815p price the shares closed at on February 3.

It’s all part of the firm’s plan to make even more acquisitions following a buying spree that has recently seen it snapping up US businesses Shoe Palace and DTLR. It also earlier bought Finish Line in the US and has made a number of purchases in its domestic UK market and other global markets too as part of a major expansion drive that began in 2015.

This expansion has seen not only its sales soaring, but its profits rising fast as well.

The new money will join its existing cash reserves to give it huge power when it comes to acting quickly as brands and other businesses come on the market. 

The pandemic has created numerous opportunities as otherwise-strong companies struggle in the face of the extraordinary conditions of today, it likely won’t be long until we hear of more deals it has done.