Hibbett, Inc. reported in a regulatory filing that the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) waiting period for the proposed acquisition by JD Sports expired, effective June 7, removing any objections from the federal government to the deal on antitrust grounds.
Hibbett said in the filing, “The expiration of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the merger.” Hibbett said the closing remains subject to shareholder approval. According to the filing, the merger is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2024.
On April 23, JD Sports Fashion agreed to acquire Alabama-based Hibbett Inc. for $87.50 per share, or about $1.08 billion. The share price represented a premium of about 20 percent to Hibbett’s last closing price.
JD Sports entered the U.S. in 2018, acquiring Finish Line for $558 million, then followed by its acquisition of Shoe Palace for $325 million in 2020 and DTLR for $495 million in 2021.
At the close of its year ended February 3, JD Sports had 992 stores across North America, including 235 under the flagship JD nameplate. The company converted multiple Finish Line stores to JD. Overall JD Sport’s sales in North America increased 8.4 percent last year to £3.41 billion ($4.3 bn).
Hibbett ended the first quarter with 1,169 stores in 36 states under the Hibbett and City Gear names. In its fiscal year ended February 3, sales increased 1.2 percent to $1.73 billion.
Image courtesy Hibbett
