JD Sports extends international reach with Greek acquisition

Peter Cowgill

JD Sports Fashion has acquired 80% of Cosmos Sport S.A. which is based in Crete, in Greece.

The Bury-based international sports and athleisurewear retailer said the value of the deal is not big enough to warrant mandatory disclosure.

Cosmos was founded in 1982 by Fragiskos Tsiknakis, who continues to be active in the business although he has handed over day to day operational responsibility to his three sons Michail (CEO), Eleftherios (head of property and private label) and Konstantinos (head of commercial and buying).

Prior to completion, Cosmos was 70% owned by the Tsiknakis family with EOS Capital Partners AIFM, which invested into the business in 2019, holding a 30% stake. EOS has disposed of its entire holding in this transaction.

Cosmos operates 57 stores in Greece and three in Cyprus under a variety of retail banners and associated trading websites with the principal ones being Cosmos (32 stores) which is the core fascia of the business and has an elevated sporting goods/lifestyle proposition and Sneaker 10 (19 stores) which has a more premium footwear offer.

In the year ended December 31, 2020, Cosmos generated revenues of approximately €52m.

JD Sports said put and call options have been agreed to enable future exit opportunities for the Tsiknakis family with whom the group will work in partnership.

Peter Cowgill, JD executive chairman, said: “This is another exciting acquisition for JD that further expands our presence in Europe.

“We welcome the highly experienced and knowledgeable Tsiknakis family to the group and we look forward to working with them on the development opportunities in the region.”

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