Academy Sports and Outdoors, a US sports and outdoor equipment retailer, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However, this is likely a placeholder for a deal we estimate could raise up to $500 million.
Academy Sports is one of the leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailers in the US, serving an estimated 30 million unique customers and completing approximately 80 million transactions in 2019. From its beginnings as a family business, the company has grown to 259 stores across 16 contiguous states. Its product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, footwear, and sports & recreation through both national brands and a portfolio of 17 owned brands.
The Katy, TX-based company was founded in 1938 and booked $5.3 billion in sales for the 12 months ended August 1, 2020. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ASO. Academy Sports and Outdoors filed confidentially on July 10, 2020. Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, KKR, BofA Securities, Evercore ISI, Guggenheim Securities, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
