Sports Direct, boohoo.com and Intercede

“The FTSE 100 edged higher in the first session after the Christmas break, with resources and financials providing direction in a quiet opening session on a shortened trading week,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Sports Direct’s agreement to sell its rights to the Dunlop brand to Sumitomo Rubber Industries for $137.5mis in line with the group’s renewed focus on its core UK business.  Sports Direct's senior management needs to prioritise the core businesses and relationships with third party brands and does not have the bandwidth to develop and manage international brands simultaneously. The Dunlop business, which currently operates in the UK, Europe, Asia (except Japan, Korea and Taiwan), the US and Canada, generated pre-tax profits of £4.06m in the last financial year.

“Online fashion group boohoo.com’s shares were up in early trading after it revealed its US arm will be the 'stalking horse' bidder for the Nasty Gal brand and customer databases. Boohoo has agreed to acquire intellectual property assets from Nasty Gal, which filed for US bankruptcy protection in November, for US$20m. Nasty Gal would add a well-established, global brand to the boohoo family but its bid may not result in a transaction if higher or more favourable offers are obtained by Nasty Gal during the auction process.

“Intercede’s shares tumbled after it slumped to an interim loss on revenues 49% down on a year ago. Revenues for the software and service company, which specialises in identity, credential management and secure mobility, were hit by the deferment of orders in the first half but if these soon come to fruition, the outlook for the full year will be in line with expectations. Intercede’s shares were down by more than 4.3% in early trading.”

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