Yahoo Finance Sports Direct shakes up US holdings by taking stake in Iconix Brands
Mike Ashley's Sports Direct has offloaded its near 20pc stake in US trainer retailer Finish Line, while building up a stake in a US sports brand company.
Sports Direct held a 19.3pc slice of Finish Line, but has disposed of its interest since JD Sports completed a £424m deal with the American company.
In a double announcement, Sports Direct said it now owned an 8.6pc stake in Iconix Brand Group, a US business which licenses brands such as Umbro, Rocawear and Artful Dodger to retailers.
It marks another key investment by Sports Direct, which has built up positions in a number of prominent high street retailers, such as Debenhams, House of Fraser, French Connection and Game Digital. Sports Direct's 25.8pc stake in Game Digital has led to a commercial tie-up between the two businesses.
It has bought half of Game's e-sports arm Belong for £3.2m, which will see Belong-branded gaming arenas and Game concessions introduced into Sports Direct stores.
Meanwhile, its 29.7pc position in Debenhams has fuelled speculation that Mr Ashley may mount a full-blown takeover attempt, as the stake is only 0.3pc below the threshold at which takeover rules require a formal offer to be made.
However, the value of Sports Direct's investment in the department store chain has taken a hit. Debenhams' share price has suffered as the business has been buffeted by the bitter conditions on the high street.
Sports Direct also holds 11.1pc of department store chain House of Fraser, but has been lining up a courtroom battle with the retailer over claims it has been denied access to crucial documents on its corporate plan.
The company said in May that it had been "frozen out" by House of Fraser's directors. House of Fraser is looking to push through a sweeping restructure known as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). If approved, the plan would see it close more than half its UK stores, putting 6,000 jobs at risk.
Shares in Sports Direct were up 0.85pc in morning trade, at 404.8p
