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Sports Direct has hit out after it was revealed rival JD Sports had been successful in its bid to buy embattled Blacks Leisure for £20m. Mansfield-based Sports Direct criticised the way the deal was handled after its offer for the retailer was rejected.

A deal between JD Sports and Northampton's Blacks Leisure was struck last night in which the Bury sports retailer purchased certain assets of the outdoor chain.

However Sports Direct, which is owned by Blacks' shareholder Mike Ashley, has called the sale "disappointing".

"This is disappointing in particular given the dismissal of Sports Direct's offer for the business at 62p a share back in 2010," said a statement from Sports Direct. "Our offer was turned down by a previous board of the company as being "wholly inadequate".

"During the asset sale process run by [administrators] KPMG, Sports Direct has looked closely at the Blacks business, always in the best interests of our shareholders," it added.

"However, given supplier relationship issues that remain, such as The North Face who were not prepared to respond to our approaches, we could not justify a higher price for the Blacks business."

Sports Direct said the value of its shares in Blacks which were written of amounted to £52.6m.

"Even before yesterday's announcement by Blacks, it had become clear that there was no value left in the Blacks shares that we held," the statement from the sports retailer added.

"Going forward we would urge the OFT to look closely at both the outdoor and sports retail markets to ensure they operate in the best interests of the consumer."

JD Sports announced last night (9 January) that it had completed a £20m deal to buy certain assets owned by Blacks Leisure.

The Bury-headquartered retailer emerged as the frontrunner to buy Blacks on Friday (6 January) and a deal was finalised yesterday afternoon. JD said the pre-pack purchase comprises inventories, fixtures and fittings and intellectual property.

"We are delighted to add another leading multi-branded retail proposition to our portfolio of retail businesses," said JD chairman Peter Cowgill.

"We believe with the support of JD's operational disciplines and financial strength, along with the existing Blacks management team, we can restore the Blacks business to a profitable market leading position.''

Blacks traded from 302 stores at the point of its administration. In addition to selling third-party brands such as North Face and Berghaus, the company also has two own brands in Eurohike and Peter Storm.

JD said it would evaluate the performance of each store in the coming months in order to decide how many stores will be retained in the long-term. The senior management team, including chief executive Julia Reynolds, will also be kept on.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, JD added: "Given that the acquisition has been completed in the quietest trading point of the year and with low current stock levels, we anticipate that the acquisition of Blacks will lead to a minor reduction in earnings in the remainder of the year to 28 January 2012.

"Thereafter, the earnings impact of Blacks will depend on how quickly we can deal with the store portfolio, rejuvenate the offer and realise the necessary cost reductions and synergies. We anticipate that Blacks will not make a material difference to the group's overall performance in the year to January 2013."