Osborne Clarke advises Snipes on the acquisition of Courir stores in France and Portugal

Osborne Clarke has advised Snipes, the leading sneaker retailer, on the acquisition of 21 branches of the French sneaker chain Courir. The acquisition includes 15 locations in France and six in Portugal.

Snipes SE, a retail company for streetwear and sneakers from renowned brands with around 800 stores and an online shop headquartered in Cologne, was founded in April 1998 in Essen, expanded in Europe from 2007, and has been present in the United States since 2019. Snipes has been part of the Deichmann Group since 2011.

The company has now acquired a total of 21 locations of the leading French sneaker retailer Courir. The acquisition was approved following a review by the French competition authority and the European Commission. With the additional locations, Snipes increases the number of its stores in France to 51. In Portugal, the number of Snipes stores grows from six to 12 through the acquisition.

Snipes CEO Dennis Schröder commented: “With the integration of these new stores, we continue our global growth strategy. France is one of the most important markets for us in Europe. By acquiring the Courir stores in both France and Portugal, we are expanding our presence and strengthening our connection to local communities.”

The Groupe Courir was only acquired by the listed JD Sports Fashion in October. In this deal, the European Commission made it a condition that Courir sells the 21 branches now acquired by Snipes.

In the acquisition, an Osborne Clarke team led by the head of the German antitrust practice group Dr Sebastian Hack negotiated the remedy package for Snipes and accompanied the commission proceedings. They also took on the international coordination and, together with employees from Osborne Clarke France, ensured swift approval by the French competition authority.

In addition to Hack, the team included Susanne Schricker, Manuel Schuster (all Osborne Clarke Germany), Alexandre Glatz, Thiebaut Marcerou, Justine Pellerin, Camille Magnin, Eloïse Moriceau (all Osborne Clarke France) (all Antitrust).

In-house, the acquisition was accompanied by Christoph Maximilian Henatsch and Thomas Bredlow.

Additionally, Osborne Clarke France was supported by Dorothee Chambon, Clément Petit, and Sabrina Ben Hassou (all tax) as well as Nuno Moura Roldão (corporate / real estate) from Ferreira Pinto Cardigos (Portugal) and Dr. Christophe Kühl (corporate), Emilie Vienne and Julie Spinola (both labour law), Thomas Decara (commercial lease law) as well as Malaika Diefenbach (registration and publication) from Qivive (Germany / France).

Courir was advised by Bredin Prat Paris (Cyril Courbon); JD Sports was advised by Freshfields London (including Guy Benda, Octavian David, Radu Valeanu, Brieuc Trambouze).