Rallye has informed French retailer Groupe Go Sport that it intends to buy the remainer of the retailer’s shares it does not already owned in what European financial markets refer to as a “squeeze out.”
Rallye said it will file a tender offer for Group Go Sport’s shares at a price of €9.10 per share, provided that the conditions are met, by a squeeze-out. This price will be subject to review by the independent expert appointed by Groupe GO Sport and the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF).
On Sept. 8, the Board of Directors of Groupe Go Sport unanimously appointed Farthouat Finance, represented by Marie-Ange Farthouat, as the independent expert. She will be responsible for preparing a report on the tender offers financial conditions and, if appropriate, on the squeeze-out.
The Board of Directors of Groupe Go Sport will issue their recommendation about the terms and conditions of Rallye’s tender offer after reviewing the independent experts report and the related documentation.
To date, Rallye holds, directly and indirectly, 93.72 percent of Groupe Go Sports shares and 94.62% of its voting rights.
Groupe Go Sport operated 337 retail outlets as of June 30, including 139 corporate owned Go Sport stores, 39 franchised Go Sport stores and 159 Courir stores. The retailer’s losses more than doubled in the first half ended June 30 compared with a year earlier, despite a turnaround in second quarter sales, which grew 3.9 percent to €149.9 million ($205mm) in the quarter ended June 30, or 5.8 percent in currency-neutral (c-n) terms.
