Anta becomes top Puma investor with $1.8bn stake

Anta Sports Products Ltd has agreed to buy a stake of about 29% in Puma SE for €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion), becoming the biggest shareholder in the German company and expanding its portfolio of Western athletic brands.

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Anta trainers on display at an Anta store in the Huangpu district of Shanghai yesterday.

(AFP)

The agreement will see Anta buy about 43 million Puma shares from Artémis, the holding company of France's billionaire Pinault family, for €35 each, Anta said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. That's a 62% premium to Puma’s last close. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.

The Puma stake purchase builds on Anta’s growing portfolio of Western brands to capture growing Chinese consumer demand for “athleisure” products after the Covid-19 pandemic. Anta stock rose as much as 3.4% yesterday morning, the most since November.