British sportswear and sneaker retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc agreed to buy Hibbett Inc for about US$1.1 billion to speed up its US expansion.

JD Sports is paying US$87.50 per share for Hibbett, compared with the US$72.49 closing price on Monday.

The acquisition will boost the company’s limited presence in the southeast of the US, JD Sports chief executive officer Régis Schultz said in a statement. North America’s share of sales will rise to 40% from 32% currently.

JD Sports shares rose 1.6% in early London trading, having lost more than a quarter of their value this year.

The company has ambitious plans to become the dominant force in sporting goods retail, in part by doing what other British retailers have tried and failed to do: crack the US market. JD Sports has grown in recent years thanks to a surge in demand for sneakers and casual sports clothes and through a deal spree.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Hibbett, which also runs the City Gear sporting goods chain, has 1,169 stores across the US selling top brands including Nike Inc. and Adidas AG, especially in footwear.

JD Sports said last month that a lack of new products from Nike contributed to a slump in sales. The US sneaker maker, a key supplier for JD Sports, announced a raft of cost-cutting measures in December, including job cuts and simplifying its product lines.

JD Sports hopes a summer of sports that includes the Olympics and the Euro 2024 football tournament will revive its fortunes in the UK, where like-for-like sales fell 3.1% in the final quarter of 2023.

Hibbett CEO Mike Longo will continue in his role after the deal closes. The purchase will be funded using US$300 million of cash and a US$1 billion extension to existing bank facilities, JD Sports said.

  - Bloomberg