Sports Direct is "selling Dunlop, the sportswear brand known for its green flash tennis shoes, to a Japanese buyer in a surprise" $137.5M deal, according to Zoe Wood of the London GUARDIAN. Sumitomo Rubber Industries confirmed that "it will acquire the trademark rights of the Dunlop brand overseas, as well as its sporting goods and licensing businesses." Sports Direct's founder and major shareholder, Mike Ashley, acquired Dunlop Slazenger for an estimated £40M in '04 from Royal Bank of Scotland -- which had taken control of the "struggling" business from its private equity-backed owners -- "three years before he floated his sportswear retail chain on the stock exchange." The 107-year-old Dunlop brand "is associated with many sports including tennis, squash, badminton and golf" (GUARDIAN, 12/27). In London, Julia Bradshaw reported "the company said that the sale was part of its strategy to focus on its core UK business and develop relationships with third party brands, rather than owning them outright." It said the senior management team did not have the "bandwidth" to both develop and manage int'l labels such as Dunlop. SRI is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp., a global conglomerate headquartered in Japan that "owns a vast array of businesses across a number of sectors, from construction, media and minerals, to food, retail and finance." The acquisition marks Sumitomo's second purchase of a U.K. company in a month. A "few weeks ago, Sumitomo snapped up Dublin-based banana producer Fyffes" for £633M ($776M) (TELEGRAPH, 12/27). REUTERS' Elisabeth O'Leary reported SRI "will grant the British sportswear chain a royalty-free licence to continue to use the Dunlop brand for premium workwear and safety wear." The price was in cash, after net debt and working capital on completion. Sports Direct ended a "tough" '16 with a "warning that trading was not going to get any easier next year after a slump in first-half profit" (REUTERS, 12/27).
