By Lauren Thomas
Dick's Sporting Goods is nearing a deal to buy Foot Locker for roughly $2.3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The details
A deal could be finalized as soon as Thursday, barring any last minute snags, the people added.
The sides have discussed a deal at $24 per share for Foot Locker, the people said. That would be a nearly 90% premium to Foot Locker's current price, which has dropped sharply this year.
Foot Locker shares closed at $12.87 on Wednesday, before soaring more than 60% in after-hours trading following The Wall Street Journal's report on the talks.
The context
Retailers, and sneaker companies, were rocked by President Trump's tariff plans last month, which upended supply chains and costs. But Trump has paused most of those levies, including the fight with China that is most crucial to the sneaker world, easing the immediate crunch on the industry.
Foot Locker's stock had slumped on the tariff announcements and remained down 40% this year, as of Wednesday's close.
The retailer had guided for weaker sales this year, citing tariffs and the pricing changes Nike has been making to reinvigorate its own sales.
Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon joined the company in 2022 from Ulta Beauty. At the beauty retailer, she helped expand Ulta's online experience significantly and brought that same strategy over to Foot Locker.
Foot Locker's turnaround plan has also entailed trying to win back key brand partners such as Adidas.
It has a sprawling real-estate footprint with roughly 2,400 locations in 26 countries, according to the company's website. It also owns Champs Sports.
A new global reach
Dick's, based in Pittsburgh, is the nation's biggest sports retailing chain and also operates Golf Galaxy stores. The deal would be, by far, its biggest acquisition and would expand the company outside of the U.S.
Run by another female CEO, Lauren Hobart, Dick's has been executing its own plan to win more consumers in a choppy environment. It's plowed ahead with investments in megastores called House of Sport that offer experiences such as batting cages and outdoor playing fields to shoppers.
Dick's shares are down 8% this year, giving it a market value of a little under $19 billion. They touched new all-time highs in January.
The deal follows the recent sneaker buyout of Skechers, which agreed to sell itself earlier this month for $9.4 billion to 3G Capital, a private-equity firm that has a history in the consumer-goods sector.
Write to Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2025 18:07 ET (22:07 GMT)
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