Shares of JJB Sports, the UK’s largest sporting goods retailer, surged 24% Friday on speculation that the retailer was near a deal to be acquired. JJB, which has been struggling due to weaker sales and profits, did acknowledge that it had received a new bid to acquire the company.

The retailer did not indicate who made the overture, but analysts said a management buyout backed by private equity was a clear possibility.

Analysts would expect to see a bid at “around 260 pence a share”, bringing the value of a deal to approximately £600 million. David Whelan, JJB’s founder and chairman, last year abandoned his 220 pence bid to take the retailer private after the non-executive directors re-buffed his bid at that price. Whelan and his family own roughly 40% of JJB shares.

Whelan is not expected to be part of this new bid.