Retail: Intersport France acquires the Go Sport group (72 stores) for €35m

"With the takeover of 72 stores (out of 81) corresponding to 90% of the jobs (i.e. 1,663 positions), Intersport France is buying Go Sport for €35m," said the Grenoble (Isère) Commercial Court in a decision delivered on 28/04/2023.

The Go Sport Group, a licensed sporting goods retailer based in Sassenage (Isère, FRA), which has belonged to the HPB (Hermione, People - Brands) holding company since 2022, had been placed in receivership by the same court on 19/01/2023. "In a well-reasoned judgement, the court noted that Go Sport Group was in a state of suspension of payments," it stated at the time, citing the report by Eight Advisory - Associés, which established liabilities of more than €14m as at 05/01/2023.

The court examined around twenty takeover offers as part of a sell-off plan. The offer from Intersport France, a subsidiary of the Swiss sporting goods distribution group, was judged to be better than that of its main competitor Frasers and its subsidiary Sports Direct. "In its final offer, Sports Direct undertook to take over 75 stores, instead of the 74 initially announced, and…