AAA JD Sports buys Deporvillage for $167m

JD Sports buys Deporvillage for $167m

Sportwear retailer JD Sports has acquired an 80% stake in Deporvillage, a Spain-based sports apparel provider backed by media group Mediaset, for €140m ($167m), Retail Gazette has reported.

JD Sports secured the shares through Spain-based holding company Iberian Sports Retail Group and said $48.2m of the acquisition cash has been deferred, its delivery is contingent upon Deporvillage’s performance this year. Co-founders Xavier Pladellorens and Ángel Corcuera will retain a 20% stake.

Founded in 2010, Deporvillage operates an online platform which sells sports clothing and equipment, with a primary focus on cycling, running and outdoor activities. It initially launched in Spain but has since expanded to Italy, France, Portugal, Germany and the UK.

The company raised $3.9m in a 2016 round backed by media group Mediaset and venture capital firms P101, Samaipata Ventures and Cabiedes & Partners in addition to private investors Hugo Arevalo, Fabrice Grinda and José Marín.

Deporvillage had previously picked up $1.4m from P101 and angel investors Felix Ruiz, Hugo Arevalo and Dani Losantos in November 2015, following $2.8m in a round led by Samaipata Ventures and backed by Mediaset’s media-for-equity subsidiary, Ad4Ventures, Cabiedes & Partners and unnamed angel investors earlier that year. It also received almost $500,000 from individual investors in 2011.