China's Anta Sports to become top Puma shareholder

Chinese athletic goods giant Anta Sports will purchase a leading stake in German sportswear brand Puma, a stock exchange filing showed Tuesday.

Anta acquire a share of about 29 percent in Puma, taking over from the French billionaire family Pinault as its largest shareholder.

According to the agreement, Anta will buy just over 43 million shares in Puma from the Pinault holding company Artemis, priced at 35 euros apiece, the statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed.

The total value of the deal is 1.51 billion euros ($1.79 billion), it added.

Anta said that the acquired stake is expected to "further enhance its presence and brand recognition in the global sporting goods market, thereby strengthening its overall international competitiveness".

The firm, based in China's southeastern Fujian province, is one of the world's largest sportswear companies.

Founded in 1991, it is the parent company of many global brands through its subsidiary Amer Sports, including Wilson, Arc'teryx and Salomon.

Anta closed its acquisition of Finland-based Amer in 2019, leading a consortium in a deal worth about $5.2 billion.

It also controls rights in the vast Chinese market for foreign sportswear firms including Fila and Descente.

Anta's statement said Tuesday that it would work on "preserving Puma's strong brand identity and heritage, with an aim to help empower Puma to fully realise its brand potential".