PPR's Redcats sells US sports & leisure business

PARIS - French retail and luxury group PPR said on Thursday that its mail order unit Redcats had agreed to sell its U.S.-based Sports & Leisure business, as part of long-running efforts to refocus PPR's activity on luxury brands.

Redcats USA plans to sell The Sportsman's Guide, Inc, and The Golf Warehouse, to retailer Northern Tool + Equipment for an enterprise value of $215 million, the statement said.

The deal, which is the first step in PPR's planned sale of all of Redcats,follows last month's announcement of plans to spin-off PPR's Fnac music and book unit and last year's sale of the Conforama furniture unit.

The deal should be finalised before the end of the year, PPR said in a statement.

Redcats USA acccounts for about one-third of Redcats revenue, a PPR spokesman said.

Redcats USA also owns a plus-size fashion business, which is roughly twice as big as the Sports & Leisure business it is selling, he said.

Last month PPR said the process for the disposal of Redcats was under way and that all options were being considered.

Reporting by Dominique Vidalon