Mr Price shares fell to a new 52-week low on Wednesday as investors continued to sell the stock amid ongoing uncertainty over its proposed R9.7 billion acquisition of European value retailer NKD.
The share traded as low as R162.56 at around 12:40 before recovering slightly to about R163, down 1.5% on the day. This leaves the stock more than 37% lower over the past year.
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Mr Price was among just three stocks on the JSE to touch a 52-week low, at a time when the broader market is in the midst of a rally.
Mr Price share price
Mr Price announced on 10 December 2025 that it would acquire 100% of Pegasus Group Holding GmbH, which trades as NKD Group GmbH, through an indirect wholly owned German subsidiary.
According to Faheema Adia, a Momentum Securities analyst, the market is concerned about the lack of detail available to judge whether the purchase price for NKD makes sense.
Market commentator Simon Brown discussed Mr Price with Adia on his podcast MoneywebNOW on Tuesday (13 January).
She says investors are struggling to make sense of the risks and potential returns of the transaction because Mr Price has provided limited financial information on the deal.
This has made it difficult for the market to decide whether the acquisition represents good value or is simply too expensive.
“The price paid was quite steep … and NKD’s growth falls below the overall value segment.”
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Moreover, Mr Price’s management has previously noted that the deal is “unlikely to be earnings accretive” in the first year, according to Adia.
Sell-off deepens
This uncertainty is reflected in the share price.
When the South African retailer announced the deal in December, the market reacted sharply, with the share falling more than 15% on the day.
Losses have since deepened, leaving the stock more than 5% down year to date.
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Mr Price digs in on R9.7bn NKD European deal
Mr Price has defended the transaction, saying it plans to host a capital markets day in the first quarter of 2026 to explain the strategic rationale, NKD’s positioning and its medium to long-term prospects.
However, its ability to disclose more detail is currently constrained by regulatory and suspensive conditions.
Longer-term growth strategy
Adia points out that Mr Price is taking a longer-term view, given weaker growth prospects for retailers locally.
“[The lack of growth] forces local companies to look for growth elsewhere in higher-growth markets like central and eastern Europe, but it is about getting it right.
“A lot of South African companies have ventured offshore and failed dismally,” she says.
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A successful capital markets day could prove to be a catalyst for Mr Price’s share price, offering some relief after the sharp sell-off.
But the market has not yet forgiven the company, and the share remains under pressure – not only because of the NKD deal, but also against the backdrop of a generally weak South African retail sector, Brown says.
While concerns have been raised about the price being paid, Mr Price has pointed out that it has a net cash position and does not intend to fund the acquisition through a rights issue, unlike Woolworths, which had to raise equity for its David Jones deal.
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The group is expected to use a portion of debt, Brown adds.
“The CEO has said management conducted extensive research and believes the valuation makes sense. However, the problem for investors is that there is currently too little information in the public domain to independently assess that claim.”
Until there is greater clarity on the value Mr Price sees in the transaction, the market is likely to remain cautious.
That makes the upcoming capital markets day a key moment, according to Brown. It will be closely watched.
“The market, however, does not like it,” he adds.
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