WHSmith is to buy US travel retailer Marshall Retail Group for $400m (£312m).
The UK retailer said the deal will accelerate the growth of its international travel arm.
The deal means WHSmith’s international business will broadly double in size, as MRG has 170 stores in North America, 59 of them inside airports.
Incoming WHSmith chief executive Carl Cowling said: “This acquisition will accelerate the growth of our international travel business and, combined with InMotion – the market-leading digital accessories airport retailer that we acquired last year – will significantly enhance our scale and growth opportunities in the US, a large and fast-growing travel retail market.”
Cowling will take over from Stephen Clarke in November.
The deal comes as WHSmith reported that its revenue rose 11% across the entire business, with travel income up 22%, but revenue from its high street division fell 2% to £580m.
Pretax profits were up 1% to £135m during the period.
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