🗼 JD Sports Eyes Growth Across the Channel

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🗼  JD Sports eyes deal across the channel

The UK retailer offered to acquire Groupe Courir, a France-based sportswear retailer, at an equity valuation of €325m. Courir is currently owned by private equity group Equistone - who bought the group in 2018 for €283m - and has over 300 stores across Europe, the majority in France. JD said the acquisition was in line with the growth strategy laid out at its capital markets day in February, and that the group is particularly interested in Courir’s “focus” on female customers. Given the regulatory hurdles, JD doesn’t expect the deal to close until the second half of this year. Shares rose 1.2% on the news. (Official)

🤖  Pearson attempts to quell AI fears

After a 15% share price slump driven by US rival Chegg’s warning that ChatGPT was impacting sales, education group Pearson outlined on Tuesday how it would integrate AI across operations. In an impromptu statement to markets, Pearson said they would be using the technology in areas such as generating quizzes, summarising content and guiding students through problem areas. Alongside the announcement, the FTSE 100 group hammered home the point by reiterating its strong start to the year and confirming “confidence” in hitting 2023 forecasts. Despite the effort, shares were little moved on the day (closing up 0.2%). (Official)

🛍️ Retail sales remain resilient

Despite a burst of poor weather and the ongoing cost of living crisis, retail sales held steady during April with total sales rising an annualised 5.1%, according to BRC-KPMG’s monthly survey. However, high inflation meant overall volumes were down across both food and non-food, as consumers continued to “adjust” their spending habits.

What Else Happened?

Economics / Politics / General

True to their word - Activision Blizzard are gearing up to fight the Competition and Markets Authority’s verdict on their acquisition by Microsoft, hiring legal heavyweight Lord David Pannick KC. (FT)

Annualised UK house price growth slowed to a 10-year low in April, according to Halifax, with homes in the South-East hit the hardest.

Deals

Social housing investor Civitas announced it had agreed terms to be acquired by Hong Kong-based CK Asset Holdings - owner of pub chain Greene King - for £485m, a 44% premium to Friday’s share price. (Official)

Troubled online estate agent Purplebricks announced they were looking to speed up a sales process after its payment processor started withholding funds; the company noted that ongoing offers under consideration were “materially” lower than the current market value. (Official)

Latest VC deals:

• Funderbeam - an investment platform looking to digitise the venture capital fundraising process - raised $40m

• Fuel cell technology startup Bramble Energy raised £12.7m, with help from the UK government

• Filament, a private equity-focussed data platform, raised £2.9m led by Wealth Club

Company News / Trading Updates

Marshalls - the FTSE 250 building materials supplier - issued a profit warning on Monday as a drop in housebuilding weighed on demand; shares sunk 8.7%. (Official)

FTSE 100 industrial conglomerate Melrose is reportedly set to outline a material change in strategy, repositioning itself as an aerospace-only company.

Ryanair placed a $40bn order for 100 Boeing 737 Max jets (including the option for 150 more), in a bid to replace older planes.

Direct Line shares dropped 4.6% as the insurer warned of a “challenging” outlook after continued claims inflation, particularly for motor damages. (Official)

🌎 Global Snapshot

Despite beating Q1 forecasts, Airbnb shares dropped 10% in after-hours trading after the company announced a cautious outlook for the rest of the year. (Official)

German-listed Software AG rebuffed a €2.5bn offer by Bain-backed Rocket Software in favour of Silver Lake’s offer, despite offering a higher price for shareholders.

China exports rose at a slower pace in April, rising 8.5% compared to a 14% surge the previous month, in signs that post-lockdown growth is slowing; imports also disappointed, falling 7.9% over the year to April.

Mattress consolidation - Tempur agreed to buy Mattress Firm from German retail group Steinhoff, for around $4bn in cash and stock; the combined company will have around 3,000 retail locations and over 20,000 employees.

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