News briefs - Corporate and M&A – Page 16
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News briefsVeNetWork acquires Unimonteco and creates VeNeSport, a new sports shoes network in Italy
VeNetWork SpA, a business accelerator that brings together 73 entrepreneurs from Italy’s Triveneto area, has announced the creation of VeNeSport, a new network of companies with a focus on sports footwear. Innovation consultant Flavio Alberti will head VeNeSport as the network’s president. The first company to join the new network ...
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News briefsSkechers acquires Scandinavian distributor
Skechers has signed an agreement to acquire its existing Scandinavian distributor, Sports Connection Holding ApS. Sports Connection’s business includes 58 existing Skechers retail locations, several e-commerce solutions and more than 1600 wholesale customers. The company was established in Denmark in 1994 and has been Skechers’ exclusive distributor in the Nordic ...
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News briefsIntersport to acquire Go Sport
The commercial court of Grenoble has come to a decision with respect to Go Sport Group, ruling today in favor of Intersport France’s bid for the company, according to BFM Business. Making its offer in a joint venture with the Qatari firm Al-Mana, Intersport has prevailed over about 20 companies ...
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News briefsAmazon winds down its line of Halo health and fitness devices
Amazon has announced that it will stop supporting Halo, effective July 31, 2023. In practical terms, it means that beginning on Aug. 1, 2023, Halo devices and the Halo app will no longer function. The decision was due to “significant headwinds, including an increasingly crowded segment and an uncertain economic ...
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News briefsNike boosts digital transformation with IT service provider Cognizant
U.S.-based IT service provider Cognizant Technology Solutions has entered into a new agreement with Nike to transform and support the sporting goods brand’s technology operations. Building on the two companies’ 14-year relationship, this new agreement will consolidate several of Nike’s existing IT support functions, with Cognizant supporting Nike across more ...
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News briefsAllbirds expands and extends its credit line
Allbirds reported in a regulatory filing that it has entered into an amendment credit agreement with its lender, JPMorgan Chase, that increases the committed amount from $40 million to $50 million. In addition, the amended terms include an increase in the uncommitted additional borrowing capacity from $35 million to $50 ...
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News briefsFrench courts to decide Go Sport’s fate
According to multiple sources in the French press, the fate of Go Sport and its parent, Groupe Go Sport, lies in the hands of the commercial court of Grenoble, the city for which the sporting-goods retailer is named (Grenoble Olympique Sport). Go Sport’s owner Hermione, People & Brands (HPB) has ...
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News briefsLululemon could be eyeing sale of Mirror
After acquiring Mirror for $500 million in 2020, Lululemon Athletica, Inc. may now be looking into selling the company, according to a report from Bloomberg, which in turn cites sources “familiar with the matter.” It has not been confirmed, however, whether this is indeed the case. Lululemon bought Mirror in ...
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News briefsPou Chen to invest $280 million in India
The Indian state government announced April 17 that a subsidiary of the world’s largest maker of branded athletic footwear, Pou Chen, will invest 23 billion rupees (€256 million) to set up a manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu. The Taiwanese footwear maker, which sells brands such as Nike, Adidas, New Balance ...
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News briefsMizuno revamps R&D at HQ
Mizuno has opened a new 6,500-sqm building for R&D at its world headquarters in Osaka. The I+D+i: Mizuno Engine, as it is called, has cost about 5 billion Japanese yen (€34m); has a sewing room, an adhesive/painting room, a 3D workshop, an environmental test room, an impact-test room, a gymnasium, ...
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News briefsTonal raises fresh money and appoints new CEO
Source: Tonal Krystal Zell, new Tonal CEO Tonal, a celebrity-backed home fitness startup, has raised $130 million in a new round of funding. The struggling connected home exercise equipment company plans to use the new capital to strengthen its balance sheet and boost sales growth in the ...
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News briefsAsics opens its first European pro athlete training center
Japanese sports brand Asics has announced the opening of Chojo Camp Europe, the brand’s first European pro-athlete training center. The camp, managed by Dave Klink, is located at Font-Romeau, a commune in France’s Pyrénées-Orientales, near the Spanish border. Font-Romeau is one of the oldest ski resorts in France and the ...
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News briefsBrands4friends to be shut down this June
After Keller Sports, another online pure player is disappearing from the market: As of June 30, the Berlin-based shopping club Brands4friends is quitting operations. According to a report in Internet World, employees were informed about this in a letter from a lawyer. The Brands4Friends shopping club was established in 2007 ...
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News briefsCurry receives $75 million in stock to remain UA ambassador
Stephen Curry received $75 million worth of stock from Under Armour (UA) last week as part of the compensation package following his appointment last week as president of Under Armour’s Curry Brand and his continued role as an ambassador for the company, according to a public SEC filing. The award ...
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News briefsU.S. chain Shoe City files for bankruptcy after failed acquisition by Arklyz
In the summer of 2022, Swiss retail group Arklyz, the owner of The Athlete’s Foot, announced plans to purchase Baltimore-based retail chain Shoe City from ESCO Ltd, which consists of about 40 retail stores, but the deal never materialized and the U.S. retailer has now filed for bankruptcy. Shoe City ...
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News briefsSnipes celebrates 25th anniversary with namesake Hollywood star
What was once a streetwear store in Cologne is now a global chain with nearly 700 stores around Europe and the U.S.: Snipes is celebrating its 25th anniversary and has brought its namesake Wesley Snipes on board to party. In a one-and-a-half-minute spot, the actor reviews the retailer’s development and ...
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News briefsFanatics acquires football retail business EPI, renames it Fanatics Italy
Fanatics, a leading global digital sports platform, announced the completion of its acquisition of EPI, an Italian sporting goods company that operates the official online and retail stores of several top Italian soccer clubs and international sports brands. Milan-based EPI, soon to be renamed Fanatics Italy, provides complete end-to-end e-commerce, ...
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News briefsFitFlop obtains new $30 million long-term revolving credit facility
London-based Aurelius Finance Company announced that it has provided FitFlop, a footwear company also based in London, with a new $30 million five-year revolving credit facility to support the company’s long-term growth objectives. Aurelius Finance Company, a member of the Aurelius Group, is an independent secured lender providing asset-based financing ...
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News briefsSpanish retailer to leave Intersport
Deportes Alvarado will be severing its ties with the Intersport Spain buying group on Oct. 31, according to CMDsport. This is its 50th anniversary year, and it has been with Intersport for about half of its existence. “We are not leaving Intersport over any difference or dispute with the group,” ...
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News briefsAdministrative changes to come at El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés and labor representatives have agreed to a plan, according to Diffusion Sport, to reorganize the retailer’s central and regional administration so as to increase the efficiency of operations. Affected by the changes will be some 2,100 employees. The plan is intended to maintain employment but also to ...
