British sports fashion retailer JD Sports is in talks with private equity firm Aurelius Group to sell its Footasylum chain following pressure from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The Bury-based FTSE-100 company acquired Footasylum in 2019 for £90mln, but was unable to formally integrate it due to a CMA investigation.
The CMA initiated a merger inquiry into the partnership and in February 2022 the watchdog handed down a £4.7mln fine for improperly sharing sensitive information.
The tussle led to the high-profile departure of JD Sports' former chairman Peter Cowgill in May.
JD Sports — alongside Elite Sports and the Rangers Football Club — is also facing price-fixing allegations by the CMA over the sale of Rangers-brand clothing products.
“While the macro backdrop and the circumstances in which the sale is taking place are far from ideal, we remind that the business’ EBITDA increased more than tenfold since the acquisition,” analysts at Shore Capital wrote in response.