Puma shares soar after reports of a purchase offer from a Chinese rival
Shares of German sports retailer Puma jumped 8.5% in trading on January 8, reaching the highest level since Ma last year. As Reuters sources learned, Chinese sportswear maker Anta Sports Products, which owns such brands as Fila and Jack Wolfskin, offered to buy a large stake in Puma.
It is a 29% stake held by the German retailer's key shareholder, the private holding company Artemis. It is owned by France's billionaire Pinault family and also controls Gucci's owner, Kering. Anta Sports made the offer weeks ago and has secured financing for the deal in case it goes through, according to two Reuters interlocutors. The Chinese holding company already has a track record of acquiring and relaunching Western sports and lifestyle brands. In 2019, for example, it led the consortium that bought Amer Sports - owner of racquet maker Wilson and apparel and footwear brand Salomon.
However, the situation with the Anta Sports offer has reached an impasse, one of the agency's sources said. Artemis expected it to exceed €40 euros per share, another interlocutor told Reuters. What amount the Chinese company had announced was not specified. In September, the agency wrote that the Pinault family did not want to sell its stake in Puma at the then market valuation. Since then, the value of the retailer has increased.
Artemis and Puma declined to comment to Reuters, Anta was unable to respond promptly to a request.
What's going on with Puma
Puma is experiencing difficulties as it has faced a sharp drop in sales - customers prefer competitors - Adidas, On and Hoka. The German retailer's market capitalization is now about 43% lower than it was a year ago, but it has recently seen a positive trend: over the past month, the stock price has risen by more than 15%, and since October, when new CEO Arthur Held outlined a recovery plan, quotes have added about 7%.
"We view the potential sale of the 29 percent stake to Artemis as moderately positive for Puma's investment story: a possible new owner could support investment in the brand, bring new visions and support an early-stage turnaround strategy under a new CEO," RBC said in a research note cited by Reuters.
In general, the investment community looks at Puma's prospects with caution: only five analysts out of 20 who track the company's dynamics advise to buy its shares, FactSet shows . One analyst recommends selling the stock. The rest have a neutral stance.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
