Canadian Tire Corp. has signed an agreement to purchase The Forzani Group (FGL), Canada’s leading sporting goods retailer with 500 outlets across the country and revenues of $1.4 billion a year. The all-cash deal, in which Canadian Tire will purchase all the outstanding shares of FGL for $26.50 per share, has the support of the FDL board of directors, which is recommending to its shareholders to tender their shares to the offer. It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011 pending regulatory approval.

Canadian Tire reported gross revenues of $2.5 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2010, a 4% rise over the same quarter a year ago. Same-store sales for the quarter dropped 0.4%, however.

Consolidated retail sales for Canadian Tire rose 2.4% in the fourth quarter to $3.1 billion.

For the year, gross revenues rose 3.4% to $9 billion. Consolidated retail sales rose 3.1% to $10.3 billion.

Same-store sales rose 0.8% for the full year.