It would seem that UK retailer, GAME, has agreed to a takeover by Sports Direct - led by Mike Ashley - who will be splashing out £52 million pound to acquire the business. The retailer's board of directors accepted the offer, equivalent to 30 pence per share, and mentioned in a note that the offer "represents a fair value for the Group".
Sports Direct has been slowly increasing it's shareholding in the company for awhile now but it also seems to note that the retailer had little choice but to accept the offer to keep itself afloat. GAME had been relying on capital injections from Sports Direct in order to support it's growth plans. In addition, the well-published struggles of the local high-street has also hit the business hard. The board themselves described this way; "the ongoing industry headwinds, current negative retail market outlook and the likely elongated current console lifecycle which are expected to impact the future financial performance of the Group."
However, GAME does have a tiny bit of an ace up it's sleeve to move itself away from it's original 'store' format, attempting to re-position itself as a venue for gamers to come together and, well, game. the 'Belong' gaming arena business also hosts eSports events such as that of FIFA, Overwatch or League of Legends. In addition, if your kid is a gamer, you can book the venues out for a party. Who needs to have birthday cake when you can kill your friends on Fortnite?
"The Board wishes to recognise the efforts of the GAME management team in driving the broader transformation strategy, the launch of Belong and delivering significant efficiencies and right sizing throughout the business to position better the Company to navigate the challenging and evolving markets in which it operates," reads the company's press release.
