Johannesburg - The sporting, leisure and recreational goods retailer Holdsport plans to list on the main board of the JSE during the second half of 2011. UBS has been appointed as adviser and sole bookrunner for the offer, the company said on Monday.
Holdsport, with turnover of around R1.1bn and strong cash flows, is a nationwide retailer of specialist sports and outdoor apparel and equipment. It has a network of 33 Sportmans Warehouse and 18 Outdoor Warehouse stores around SA. It provides local and international brands to a broad customer base from sporting beginners to veterans.
It also has an investment in First Ascent, an independently managed business which supplies technical apparel to the sporting goods industry.
Holdsport's history dates back to 1986 when the first Sportmans Warehouse was opened in Rondebsoch, Western Cape. It has since grown to 51 stores in South Africa and one Sportmans Warehouse in Windhoek, Namibia.
The proposed listing would see the majority of the private placement coming from Ethos Private Equity Fund V, selling shares it acquired in a buyout during September 2006.