Sports Direct share price tumbles after Mike Ashley sells three per cent stake
Sports Direct shares have fallen over five per cent in this morning's trading after Goldman Sachs revealed yesterday that it was selling a 2.57 per cent stake on behalf of company founder Mike Ashley.
Ashley’s holding in the UK’s biggest sports retailer has been cut down to 55 per cent following the placing of 15.4m ordinary shares by Goldman Sachs to institutional shareholders.
After closing at a price of 762.5 pence per share on Tuesday night, shares in Sports Direct opened at a price of 732.5 pence per share this morning and have since slipped lower.
In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, MASH Holdings (the company owned by Ashley) confirmed that the shares had all been sold at a price of 720 pence per share, earning Ashley a total of £110.9m.
Not since June 24 have shares in the sports retailer dropped so much in a single day.
Ashley founded Sports Direct in 1982 and is now estimated to be worth $5.6bn (£3.7bn), according to Bloomberg estimates.
The businessman owns Newcastle United football club and has recently been at the centre of a struggle for control of Scottish football giants Rangers.
Ashley currently owns just under nine per cent of Rangers’ holding company, Rangers International Football Club, but has been thwarted by the Scottish FA in attempts to triple that stake.
Last week his offer of a £10m loan for securities on Ibrox stadium and the Murray Park training ground in return sparked protests by Rangers fans.