JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.)'s shares climbed 5% to 125.7p following the announcement of its plan to acquire US retailer Hibbett in a deal valued at £899 million, aiming to boost its North American presence.
The deal is set to increase the retailer's annual turnover from North America to approximately £4.7 billion, raising its regional sales share to 40%.
Hibbett, based in Birmingham, Alabama, operates over 1,100 stores across 36 states, selling major brands like Nike, Jordan, and Adidas.
Shore Capital said the acquisition was earnings, margin and valuation accretive, with the potential for further upside if annual synergies of around £20 million can be realised.
Peel Hunt, with a target price of 250p, added: "This looks a very good deal to us, highly complementary to the existing business and likely to help relationships with Nike et al further.
"We continue to believe that JD Sports Fashion will become the major sports retailer globally, and the shares are very cheap in our view."
In early afternoon trading the stock was up 5.58p at 124.02p.