Billionaire tycoon Mike Ashley has sold part of his Sports Direct stake for £218m.
The sale follows Ashley’s acquisition of an 11% stake in House of Fraser, which emerged at the weekend. It is not known what Ashley’s intentions are for the 11% stake.
It also follows investors baulking at a proposed £70m bonus for Ashley last week for a second time. The scheme would have granted Ashley eight million shares but investors said its targets were not taxing enough. A similar plan was also rejected in 2012.
Ashley bought the House of Fraser stake from tycoon Sir Tom Hunter, with Chinese group Sanpower acquiring the remaining 89%.
Ashley sold 25 million shares in Sports Direct through a placing handled by the retailer’s broker Goldman Sachs. He will still own roughly 60% of the company.
Sources told The Telegraph that the sale is not connected to House of Fraser. Sources said Ashley sold the shares after institutional investors called for greater liquidity in the company.
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