Sports Direct to offload Dunlop brand for Â£112m

Dunlop is set to be acquired by Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries. Picture: Contributed

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Sports Direct is pursuing post-Christmas dealmaking with the planned sale of its Dunlop brand to a Japanese tyre and rubber company for Â£112 million.

Proceeds from the sale, to Sumitomo Rubber Industries, would be used “in its commitment to its third-party brand relationships”, Sports Direct said.

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The company added that it did “not currently have the bandwidth to develop and manage international brands simultaneously” and needed to prioritise its core UK businesses and relationships with third-party brands.

The Dunlop business has a combined revenue of £42.64m, gross assets of £41.76m and pre-tax profit of £4.06m, Sports Direct said, with the transaction conditional on merger clearance and expected to complete, if such approval is received, by the end of May.

The acquisition will let Sumitomo Rubber Industries sell and produce Dunlop-branded products globally, the Japanese firm said.

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