Britain's Sports Direct buys stakes in U.S. firms Iconix and Dick's​

LONDON (Reuters) - Sports Direct, Britain's biggest sportswear retailer, said it had acquired small stakes in two U.S. companies, continuing its strategy of buying shares to develop commercial relationships with new partners and brands.

(Reuters)

Sports Direct said it now held 11.5 percent of Iconix Brand Group Inc and 2.3 percent of Dick's Sporting Goods Inc as indirect economic interests through contracts for difference.

In Britain, Sports Direct formerly acquired a position in department store group Debenhams, in whose outlets it has opened a number of concessions.

"The main rationale for these stakes is to allow Sports Direct to hopefully build a relationship and develop commercial partnerships with the relevant parties," Sports Direct said in a statement on Wednesday.

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(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)