Anta Sports Set to Become Puma's Largest Shareholder in $1.8 Billion Deal

By P.R. Venkat

Anta Sports has agreed to acquire a stake in Puma for $1.79 billion that will make the Chinese sportswear company the largest shareholder in the German athletic-goods firm.

Anta plans to take a 29.06% stake in Puma from the Pinault family in an all-cash deal, buying 43.01 million shares at 35 euros each, it said Tuesday.

Shares of Puma closed at 21.63 euros on Monday.

Hong Kong-listed Anta will fund the 1.51 billion-euro purchase using its internal resources, including working capital.

"Through the acquisition of a strategically significant minority stake and becoming the target company's largest shareholder, the group is expected to further enhance its presence and brand recognition in the global sporting goods market," Anta said.

Shares of Puma have been on the rise since media reports sparked speculation about potential interest from Anta.

The acquisition comes at a time when the German company is executing a turnaround plan to shore up its finances.

In October last year, the company announced plans to cut around 900 additional white-collar roles globally from a total number of approximately 7,000 by the end of this year.

Founded in 1991, Anta is a global sportswear company that owns brands including Fila, Jack Wolfskin and Maia Active. It is also the largest shareholder of NYSE-listed Amer Sports, whose portfolio features Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic.

Anta plans to secure board representation at Puma following the completion of the deal.

"The representatives will work alongside other board members-both shareholders and employee representatives-while preserving Puma's strong brand," Anta said.

Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2026 20:12 ET (01:12 GMT)