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UK Watchdog Fines JD Sports & Footasylum For Data Sharing Post Failed Merger

By  |  February 14, 2022

UK’s competition regulator has fined JD Sports and Footasylum almost £5mn for sharing commercially sensitive information, including during one meeting in a car park in Greater Manchester last year, reported The Financial Times.

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    The meetings followed a decision in May last year by the Competition and Markets Authority to block a combination of the two companies.

    On Monday, the regulator said there was a “black hole” surrounding discussions between the groups, as some phone records relating to meetings between JD Sports executive chair Peter Cowgill and Footasylum chief executive Barry Brown had been deleted.

    Related: UK Antitrust Regulator Forces JD Sports To Sell Footasylum

    JD Sports shouldered the bulk of the £4.68mn penalty for rule breaches concerning the tie-up. Its share price was down almost 5 per cent in morning trading.

    The fine comes after a series of clashes between the CMA and the two retailers over JD Sport’s £90mn acquisition of Footasylum, which was originally completed in 2019.

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