DICK'S Sporting Goods To Buy Foot Locker In $2.5 Bln Deal; Shares Move In Pre-market

(RTTNews) - DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS), an omni-channel sporting goods retailer, on Thursday announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Foot Locker, Inc. (FL), a footwear and apparel retailer. The deal implies an equity value of around $2.4 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $2.5 billion.

In the pre-market activity on the NYSE, DICK'S shares were losing around 11.3 percent to trade at $186.00.

Foot Locker shares were gaining around 81 percent to trade at $23.24.

The transaction is expected to be accretive to DICK'S Sporting Goods' earnings per share in the first full fiscal year post-close, excluding one-time costs.

Under the deal terms, Foot Locker shareholders will elect to receive either $24.00 in cash or 0.1168 shares of DICK'S common stock for each share of Foot Locker stock.

Based on the closing price of Foot Locker stock on May 14, the $24.00 per-share consideration represents a premium of approximately 66% to Foot Locker's 60-trading day volume weighted average price.

The transaction is subject to Foot Locker shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of DICK'S and Foot Locker.

DICK'S intends to finance the acquisition through a combination of cash-on-hand and new debt.

Foot Locker operates approximately 2,400 retail stores across 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In 2024, Foot Locker achieved net worldwide sales of $8 billion.

Following the purchase, DICK'S expects to operate Foot Locker as a standalone business unit within its portfolio and maintain the Foot Locker brands.

Lauren Hobart, President and CEO of DICK'S, said, "Sports and sports culture continue to be incredibly powerful, and with this acquisition, we'll create a new global platform that serves those ever evolving needs through iconic concepts consumers know and love, enhanced store designs and omnichannel experiences, as well as a product mix that appeals to our different customer bases."

In the transaction, Goldman Sachs is serving as financial advisor to DICK'S. Evercore is serving as financial advisor to Foot Locker.