Exclusive: China’s Anta Sports has offered to buy Pinault family’s 29% Puma stake, sources say
Item 1 of 3 A view of a logo at the PUMA flagship store in New York City, U.S., July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo
[1/3]A view of a logo at the PUMA flagship store in New York City, U.S., July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Anta has offered to buy Puma stake from Pinaults, sources say
Artemis expected bids to exceed 40 euros per share, source says
China’s Anta has history of acquiring, revamping western brands
Anta made offer few weeks ago, situation has stalled -sources
HONG KONG/LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – China’s Anta Sports Products (2020.HK), opens new tab has offered to buy 29% of struggling German sportswear firm Puma (PUMG.DE), opens new tab from France’s Pinault family, three people with knowledge of the talks said.
Anta made the offer a few weeks ago and has secured financing for the acquisition should a deal go ahead, said two of the sources. However, the situation had stalled, one added.
Artemis had been expecting any offer for its Puma stake to exceed 40 euros a share, a fourth person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. All four sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.
Artemis is run by Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman of Kering (PRTP.PA), opens new tab, which includes fashion house Gucci among its brands. The Pinault family acquired its Puma stake from Kering when it transformed the conglomerate into a pure luxury player in 2018.
Artemis and Puma declined to comment. Anta did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Puma shares rose as much as 9% after the Reuters report, hitting their highest level since May 2025 to trade at 24.6 euros, LSEG data showed.
Puma’s market capitalisation was 3.3 billion euros ($3.85 billion) at Wednesday’s close, down around 50% from the same date last year as the brand faced a steep decline in sales.
Puma’s new CEO Arthur Hoeld set out his turnaround strategy in October after sneaker releases like the Speedcat failed to generate the hype executives hoped for, while sales have fallen as shoppers opted for rivals such as Adidas, On and Hoka.
Puma’s shares have lagged rivals
Hong Kong-listed Anta, which has a track record of acquiring and revamping Western sports and lifestyle brands, had been exploring a bid for Puma, a source close to the matter said in November. In 2019, it led a consortium to buy Amer Sports, owner of racquet maker Wilson and mountain sports specialist Salomon.
“We view the potential disposal of Artemis’ 29% stake in PUMA as incrementally positive for the PUMA equity story, with potential new ownership that could support investments behind the brand, offer new perspectives and support the early stage turnaround strategy under new CEO, Arthur Hoeld,” RBC analysts said in a note after the Reuters report.
A senior source close to Artemis said in September, opens new tab the Pinault family would not sell their Puma stake at the then current market valuation but conceded the stake was “non-strategic”. Puma shares have since risen by 15%.
Artemis, which controls Kering as well as auction house Christie’s and Hollywood talent agency CAA, has been under investor scrutiny due to the debt it built up as Pinault sought to diversify away from Gucci during a slide in luxury sales.
($1 = 0.8563 euros)
Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong, Amy-Jo Crowley in London. Additional reporting by Tassilo Hummel and Helen Reid. Editing by Lisa Jucca, Anousha Sakoui and Alexander Smith
Kane Wu covers M&A, private equity, venture capital and investment banks in Asia. She tracks the region’s most high-profile deals, fundraisings as well as investment trends amidst geopolitical, macroeconomic and regulatory changes. She was nominated for a SOPA Excellence in Business Reporting award for coverage of China regulatory crackdown in 2021. Prior to Reuters, she worked at the Wall Street Journal and also wrote about Asia’s loan market for Thomson Reuters Basis Point. She is based in Hong Kong.
