The two female CEOs behind Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods’ $2.4 billion deal

Good morning! Defunding Planned Parenthood could hurt taxpayers, Selena Gomez's nonprofit faces financial issues, and the Dick's Sporting Goods-Foot Locker deal isn't a slam dunk.

- Goal-oriented. Dick's Sporting Goods is buying Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, the retailers confirmed yesterday. It's the biggest acquisition ever for Dick's—and the deal teams up two notable female CEOs, DSG's Lauren Hobart and Foot Locker's Mary Dillon.

My colleague Phil Wahba (a retail expert!) has a new analysis of the deal for Fortune. It may be Hobart's "first major mistake," he writes. Indeed, Wall Street doesn't like the sound of the merger, either; shares fell 13% on Thursday morning.

Foot Locker has struggled, and investors worry that Dick's lacks experience turning around outside brands. While both in the athletic-wear category, the two retailers operate very differently. Foot Locker has stores in U.S. malls and around the world, while Dick's mainly runs U.S.-based big-box locations in the suburbs. The idea behind the purchase is that Dick's could gain market share and go further into the sneaker boom, Phil writes. But there are a lot of question marks around whether Dick's could do that successfully.

Dillon is known for turning around Ulta Beauty, a post she held for years before arriving at Foot Locker. Interestingly, her success is what makes Wall Street question whether this is a good idea or not. If Dillon couldn't fix Foot Locker, they're asking, why will Dick's fare any better? "Can Dicks’ management succeed in improving Foot Locker’s fortunes where a respected and successful executive (Mary Dillon) was unable?” said John Zolidis of equity research firm Quo Vadis Capital.

There are other reasons the deal isn't viewed as a slam-dunk, like both chains' dependence on Nike. Read more from Phil here.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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