U.K. DEPARTMENT STORE HOUSE OF FRASER BOUGHT BY SPORTS DIRECT FOR $115 MILLION

U.K. billionaire Mike Ashley swooped in to rescue the House of Fraser Ltd. department-store chain for 90 million pounds ($115 million), staving off collapse for an anchor of the country’s troubled shopping districts.

Ashley’s Sports Direct International Plc agreed to acquire the 169-year-old retailer’s U.K. stores, brand name and inventory. Ashley said his plan was to turn the 59-store chain in to the “Harrods of the High Street”.

Earlier on Friday, House of Fraser had fallen into administration, a form of creditor protection, after talks with investors and creditors failed to find “a solvent solution” for the business.

The retailer employs 16,000, 5,900 directly and 10,100 in concessions. Administrators said jobs could be “preserved”.

Sports Direct said in a statement: “The group has acquired all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the House of Fraser brand and all of the stock in the business.”

Sports Direct already held an 11 percent stake in the department store chain, which had been intending to close 31 shops under a now-abandoned restructuring plan.