Report: Dick's Will Acquire Golfsmith

(RTTNews) - Dicks Sporting Goods Inc., one of the major sporting good retailers in the U.S., is planning to acquire Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., a specialty retailer with stores in U.S. and Canada, through a bankruptcy auction, Reuters reported. The bid would be worth $70 million and needs approval by a U.S. bankruptcy court.

Dick's would retain around 30 Golfsmith stores and 500 employees. The rest of the stores might be reportedly closed.

The Texas-based Golfsmith International had more than 150 stores and e-commerce site. The company has filed for chapter 11 petition on September 14 to liquidate 20 under-performing stores, citing the great recession and the waning popularity of Golf as the cause of its financial turmoil. Subsequently, the company sought for a parallel liquidation auction process. Golfsmith has secured debt of $195 million and unsecured trade debt of $38 million.

Earlier, WSJ had reported that other than Dick's, Worldwide Golf Enterprises Inc, Golf & Tennis Pro Shop Inc and Yellen Group had been trying to bid for Golfsmith.