Sports Direct International PLC’s (LON:SPD) Mike Ashley is said to have placed a bid to rescue collapsed music chain HMV.
Last month HMV went into administration for the second time in six years as it continued to struggle against slowing demand for CDs and DVDs.
READ: HMV collapses into administration for second time in six years
Ashley, who rescued department store chain House of Fraser in August through Sports Direct, is understood to have tabled a bid to HMV’s administrators at KPMG last week.
READ: Harrods of the High Street: Ashley's ambition as Sports Direct grabs House of Fraser for £90mln
Independent retail analyst, Nick Bubb, said: "Mike is presumably interested in the fact that the big entertainment suppliers will be offering margin and working capital support to maintain such a big chunk of the UK market, so a deal may look low-risk in the short term.
"But HMV is hardly a licence to print money, given the way the physical entertainment markets are collapsing, and it goes without saying that Mike ought to have better things to do."
Restructuring firm Hilco, which rescued HMV in 2013 when it first collapsed into administration, said the music retailer has been hit by a "tsunami” of challenges as more consumers download music and movies online.
Aside from Ashley, other interested parties are thought to include activist investor Elliott Advisors and North American music retailer Sunrise Records, which took over about 70 HMV stores in Canada after the chain failed there in 2017.
KPMG declined to comment on the reports of Ashley’s offer but has said it has received "a number of offers on various bases".
"We now need to evaluate these further over the coming days," it added.
Sports Direct holds stakes in a number of high street chains including French Connection, Debenhams and Game Digital.
The sportswear retailer agreed to buy bike firm Evans Cycles in October while Ashley has also made clear his interest in struggling department chain Debenhams.
Ashley last month offered a £40mln loan to Debenhams, in which Sports Direct owns a near 30% stake, but the company turned him down.
READ: Debenhams turned down £40mln loan offer from Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct - media report
He has also been linked with a potential offer for toy retailer, Hamleys, which was put up for sale by its Chinese owner, C.banner in October, after swinging to a loss in 2017.