06/01/12

By Karen Moss

Blacks Leisure will briefly enter administration as part of a takeover deal 'prepack arrangement' that will wipe out the value of existing shares. The retailer's shares have now been suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange.

It is now understood that JD Sports are the frontrunners in the bidding war to buy the struggling outdoors retailer. Dragon's Den star, Peter Jones, ruled himself out of the race earlier today.

Blacks received a number of final offers for the bulk of the business and is expected to announce a deal in the next few days. Blacks' stores will remain open for business as usual in the meantime.

The company owns 98 Blacks outlets, 208 Millets stores and the Peter Storm and Eurohike brands. It employs about 3,500 people.

Accountancy firm KPMG are expected to be appointed administrators, but only once details of an immediate onward sale of the company's key trade, assets and brands has been finalised.

A pre-pack administration is one in which the insolvent company has already arranged for a buyer of its profitable assets beforehand. It will also allow the firm to write off its £36m debts, and help it to close down loss-making parts of the business.

Home     More News


Other stories you may find of interest:

Phones4u turn to Fujitsu/Tata Consultancy Services
Fujitsu Technology Solutions has partnered with Tata Consultancy Services to deliver a PRIMERGY BladeFrame-based dynamic infrastructure to Phones4U, alongside NetApp V-Series storage

William Hill links up with paysafecard
William Hill customers can now use online cash solution, paysafecard, when spending money

Some cheer amongst the gloom
Retailers' IT budgets have been slashed by about 20 per cent over the past year, down from 1.3 per cent to 1.1 per cent as a percentage of sales, according to the latest Martec International IT in Retail report