With the bid deadline for Sports Authority’s assets and leases having passed, Modell’s Sporting Goods Inc. has backed away from a potential deal for the chain that would have kept some of the stores operating under their current name, according to sources familiar with negotiations.
New York-based Modell’s, the only potential buyer to express interest in keeping the Sports Authority brand going, had been in talks with the company and its creditors for weeks, asking not to be named because the negotiations are private. It walked away because the two sides couldn’t agree on a price, according to reports.
Sports Authority has set a deadline of Wednesday for bids for an asset auction on May 16. That day, it also will auction 140 store leases. The company’s scheduled to appear in court by May 27 for sale approval, and it remains in talks with a number of possible bidders for the leases, including competitors Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Academy Sports & Outdoors.
