Puma has had a change of major shareholder. The owner of Gucci sold his stake at a 60% premium

Chinese sportswear manufacturer Anta Sports Products is buying a 29.06% stake in Germany's Puma from the Pinault family, one of France's most powerful business dynasties. This will effectively make Anta the largest shareholder in Puma, writes Reuters. The deal implies a high premium to the market and has already caused a sharp rise in Puma's quotations.

On January 27 in Frankfurt, Puma shares rose by almost 23% at the moment, but then corrected and at the time of publication are trading in the plus by a little more than 5% against the previous close. Anta shares rose 2% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, January 27. Earlier in the session their growth at the moment reached 3.4%.

The deal between Anta and Groupe Artémis, an investment company owned by the Pinault family that owns Puma securities, is valued at €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion), according to a release from Anta. According to the release, the Chinese sports retailer will pay €35 for each Puma share in cash - up 62% from the closing price of Puma securities on Monday (€21.6), Jan. 26.

Anta clarified that after the deal closes they expect to get seats on Puma's board of directors, but they do not plan a full takeover of the brand.

"We believe that Puma's share price in recent months does not reflect the long-term potential of the brand," Anta chairman Ding Shizhong remarked, commenting on the deal.

The Chinese sports retailer's acquisition of a stake in Puma requires antitrust clearance, Anta shareholder approval and regulatory approvals in China and other jurisdictions, Reuters notes. Anta plans to call an extraordinary shareholder meeting on the matter, and the deal is expected to close once all conditions are met.

The Pinault family is one of France's most influential business dynasties. The investment company Artemis, run by François-Henri Pinault, previously called its stake in Puma a non-strategic asset. The Pinault family received the stake from luxury holding company Kering in 2018 when the group decided to focus exclusively on the luxury segment, Reuters recalls. Kering owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and other fashion houses.

The sale of a stake in the German retailer is taking place against the backdrop of Puma's attempts to regain its position after losing market share to Nike and Adidas and increased competition from fast-growing brands such as New Balance and Hoka, writes Reuters. The situation is complicated by weakening demand: recent launches by the German brand of new sneaker lines, including the Speedcat model, failed to give the expected impetus to its sales.

Against this backdrop, the company is trying to regain growth and investor confidence under new CEO Arthur Held, who took over at Puma in 2025 and launched a program to "revitalize" the business with a focus on sports product brand development and cost control.

Anta said in a statement that the deal will help Puma grow sales in the mainland Chinese market while supporting Anta's strategy of developing a global multi-brand group. Anta said Puma seamlessly complements its portfolio and can strengthen the international competitiveness of the business. Anta already owns brands such as Fila, Jack Wolfskin, Kolon Sport and Maia Active, and is also the largest shareholder in Amer Sports, which includes Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic.

"Anta's successful track record of integrating acquired brands and strong management team reinforces our confidence in the company's ability to relaunch the Puma business," Citigroup analysts emphasized (quoted by Reuters).

Reuters reported in early January that Anta had offered to buy about 29% of Puma from the Pinault family and had already secured financing for the deal, but talks stalled at the time due to disagreements over the company's valuation.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor