Mike Ashley’s has called for wide-ranging investigation into the sportswear industry, complaining about the dominance of Adidas and Nike. The retailer said the ‘must-have’ brands hold a bargaining position which allows them to control supply and the price of their products. Adidas, for example, has blocked Ashley’s retail empire from selling some of its products, Sports Direct said. ‘Sports Direct believes that the industry as a whole would benefit from a wide market review by the appropriate authorities in both the UK and Europe,’ a spokesman said. Ashley’s grievance stretches as far back as 2013 when the German sportswear group withdrew replica Chelsea shirts from Sports Direct stores. The retailer said the dominance of Nike and Adidas allows them to ‘[refuse] to supply key products… with no apparent justification’.
Julian Dunkerton, the founder of Superdry (SDRY), has returned to head the fashion firm on a permanent basis after jumping back into the helm in April in an interim capacity. Dunkerton – who orchestrated a boardroom clear-out, ousting former chief executive Euan Sutherland – now has until April 2021 as chief executive to carry out his ‘design-led’ overhaul of the troubled firm. ‘Julian has agreed to continue in the role to oversee the delivery of his vision to restore the brand to its design-led roots and lead the business to sustainable growth,’ Superdry said. ‘Today’s announcement reflects the board’s unanimous view that he is the right person to lead the business through this initial crucial phase of the turnaround.’
Energean Oil and Gas (ENOG) has agreed to sell Edison’s North Sea oil and gas assets to private equity-backed Neptune Energy for up to £223million. Mediterranean-focused Energean struck a deal to buy Italian group Edison’s assets for £676million in July. This gave it access to projects in countries including Croatia, Italy and Egypt, as well as the UK and Norwegian areas of the North Sea. Energean chief executive Mathios Rigas made it clear when the Edison deal was inked in July that the company would sell divisions that were not in line with its goal of becoming a major Mediterranean oil and gas player.
Sophos Group (SOPH) is set to be snapped up by a US private equity group in a £3billion ($3.82billion) deal. Shares in the company, which sells security software to small and medium businesses, jumped 577p on the news – just a few pence shy of Thoma Bravo’s offer of $7.40 (583p) per share. The offer has been accepted by the board and the deal will now go to shareholders for approval. If shareholders vote in favour of the deal, the company will end its short spell on the London stock market, where it was floated in 2015 by its former private equity owner Apax for £1billion. Peter Gyenes, chairman of Sophos, said the takeover ‘secures the delivery of future value for shareholders today’ thanks to Thoma Bravo’s ‘deep sector expertise’. ‘Under Thoma Bravo’s ownership we expect Sophos to accelerate its evolution and leadership in next-generation cybersecurity,’ he added.
China has approved Ganfeng Lithium’s investment in miner Bacanora Minerals Ltd NPV (DI) (BCN). The Chinese group owns 29.99% of Bacanora and a 22.5% stake in its Sonora lithium mining and processing project in Mexico. Bacanora has received £22million, and Ganfeng’s vice president Wang Xiaoshen has joined its board. Chinese firms have been buying lithium deposits as demand for the metal used in electric car batteries has boomed.
Ocado Group (OCDO) shares were knocked after JP Morgan analysts cast doubt on its value. The online grocer’s shares have surged by more than 60 per cent this year in a rally spurred by a £750million partnership agreed with Marks & Spencer in February. But according to JP Morgan brokers, its £9billion market value is ‘already stretched’. As they put it, Ocado is a ‘great concept and great execution, but running the numbers makes us less excited’. They calculate that the retail joint venture with M&S and the deals it has signed with grocers for its state-of-the-art, automated warehouses are worth £3.9billon combined – or around 40% its value. Ocado would need to announce plans to build another 126 of the fancy distribution sites to justify the current market cap, they say, versus the 38 that are in the pipeline. JP Morgan downgraded its stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘underweight’ and trimmed its target price back from 1073p to 1050p – based on their estimate that there will be a further 85 warehouses, at a value of 6.1p per share each.
Ferrexpo (FXPO) tumbled 4.55p, to 143.15p after the firm’s board backed its chief executive, billionaire Kostyantin Zhevago, amid allegations of misconduct surrounding a former business of his. Media reports last week said Ukrainian authorities were seeking to put Zhevago on an international wanted list after he failed to report for questioning about a bank he owned until 2015. He denies any wrongdoing – and the board said it understands he has not been served with any legal notices. Separately, Ferrexpo has been mired in scandal this year over questions about funds donated to a charity connected with the mining group.
Ashmore Group (ASHM) rose after the amount of losses it made in the three months to the end of September was offset by bringing in slightly more in new business. This meant its assets were virtually flat – at £73billion – when compared with the quarter before.
