Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Jones Day are advising as Sainsbury’s has agreed to sell Argos to newly established Swift Partners for £120m.
HSF Kramer is advising Sainsbury’s, with a team led by M&A head Gavin Davies, a Legal 500 Hall of Famer for upper mid-market and premium M&A, M&A partner Sophie Thompson, and UK media and digital head Hayley Brady, a Legal 500 leading partner for tech, media and telecoms.
A team at Jones Day is advising Swift Partners, led by PE partner Liam Bonamy and corporate partner Robert Harris. Jones Day has previously advised True Capital on mid market buyouts since 2016, which has backed the deal.
Swift Partners is a new company established for the purposes of the transaction by former Co-operative Group CEO Richard Pennycook, former Morrisons CFO and COO Trevor Strain, and Matt Truman, the co-founder of retail sector specialist investment and advisory firm True Capital.
Sainsbury’s was previously in discussions to sell Argos to Chinese retailer JD.com. Last September, the UK supermarket giant announced that it had terminated discussions, as JD.com offered terms that would not be in the interests of Sainsbury’s shareholders, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Swift Partners’ Pennycook said: ‘Trevor, Matt and I share a strong belief in Argos, its people and what it can achieve in the years ahead. We are all making a long-term commitment to the business and look forward to working closely with the team to deliver even more for customers, while maintaining Argos’s strong values.’
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said: ‘For Sainsbury’s, this is a further step forward in our strategy. Having rebuilt the core strengths of our food business, this agreement allows us to focus all our resources and investment on the significant opportunities ahead.’
The transaction is expected to complete in February 2027, with Sainsbury’s and Swift to then enter into transitional service arrangements for an anticipated 24 months.
