Dick’s Sporting Goods is buying the struggling footwear chain Foot Locker for about $2.4 billion, the second buyout of a major footwear company in as many weeks as business leaders struggle with uncertainty over how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will impact companies that make many of their products overseas.
Dick’s said Thursday that it expects to run Foot Locker as a standalone unit and keep the Foot Locker brands, which include Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, WSS and Japanese sneaker brand atmos.
“Sports and sports culture continue to be incredibly powerful, and with this acquisition, we’ll create a new global platform that serves those ever evolving needs through iconic concepts consumers know and love, enhanced store designs and omnichannel experiences, as well as a product mix that appeals to our different customer bases,” Dick’s CEO Lauren Hobart said in a statement.
Skechers announced that it was being taken private earlier this month by the investment firm by 3G Capital in a transaction worth more than $9 billion.
Foot Locker shareholders can choose to receive either $24 in cash or 0.1168 shares of Dick’s common stock for each Foot Locker share that they own.
The footwear industry has been growing increasingly concerned over Trump’s trade war with other countries, particularly China. Athletic shoe makers have invested heavily in production in Asia.
Shares of sporting goods and athletic shoe companies have been under pressure all year.
About 97% of the clothes and shoes purchased in the U.S. are imported, predominantly from Asia, according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Using factories overseas has kept labor costs down for U.S. companies, but neither they nor their overseas suppliers are likely to absorb price increases due to new tariffs.
Foot Locker offers Dick’s a lot of potential, namely its huge real estate footprint, and would give the Pittsburgh company its first foothold overseas.
Foot Locker has about 2,400 retail stores across 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It also has a licensed store presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The company had global sales of $8 billion last year.
Dick’s said that it anticipates closing on the Foot Locker deal in the second half of the year. The transaction still needs approval from Foot Locker shareholders.
Dick’s stock dropped more than 13% before the market open, while shares of Foot Locker surged more than 82%.
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