WH Smith to buy Marshall Retail for $400 million in US push
WH Smith shop in London, Britain
BritishretailerWHSmithPlcsaid on Thursday it willbuyMarshallRetailGroup for about $400million, betting that the American peer's network of stores atUSairports will help boost profits soured by turmoil on the British high street.
Business atWHSmith's stores at airports and railway stations has been booming as the over 200-year-old company benefits from rising passenger footfall and new larger-format outlets.
The company,which sells everything from books and sandwiches to Bluetooth headphones, began itspushinto the United States last yearwhen it bought digital accessoriesretailer InMotion.
WHSmithsaid it would fund the all-cash deal forMarshallthrough a combination of 200millionpoundsin new debt and a 155millionpound equity raise. The company will suspend its sharebuyback programmewhile it pays off debt.
The reliance on travelling consumers was highlighted on ThursdaywhenWHSmithreported a 7 per centrise in headline annual pre-tax profit, boosted by a 14 per centjump in earnings from its travel business.
Headline profit before tax rose to 155millionpounds from 145millionpounds in the year ended August31, marginally beating analyst estimates of 154.2millionpounds, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
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The company also said it was prepared for Brexit and has put in place contingency plans, including increasing the stock of convenience products.