British Sportswear Giant Makes Another US Move

JD Sports is acquiring Baltimore-based athletic footwear and apparel brand DTLR Villa for $495 million. DTLR Villa has 247 stores across 19 states. About $100 million of the funds will be used to repay existing debt.

Stateside sales already account for over a quarter of the British company’s total sales. 

• June 2018: Acquired Finish Line for $558 million. 
• October 2020: Opened a flagship store in Times Square.
• December 2020: Bought California-based Shoe Palace for $325 million.

As with Shoe Palace, DTLR’s current top executives will continue managing the company. 

“In our view, this looks a further sensible bolt-on acquisition and plays to the theme that the largest retailers are starting to scale up using their balance sheets,” Shore Capital analyst Greg Lawless wrote in  a memo, according to MarketWatch.

DTLR was founded in 1982 and is currently owned by BRS & Co. and Goode Capital. Originally branded as Downtown Locker Room, the company rebranded to DTLR, then merged with Villa in 2017.

Shares of JD Sports rose more than 6% after the announcement on Monday.