Anta Acquires PUMA: An Atypical Move in Globalization

Rumors confirmed, Anta has officially taken action, acquiring nearly 30% of PUMA’s shares. On January 27, Anta announced the acquisition of 29.06% of the sports brand PUMA SE, with a cash consideration of 1.5 billion euros. Upon completion of the transaction, Anta will officially become PUMA's largest single shareholder. However, unlike previous deep integration models, the key difference is that this time Anta has adopted a strategic financial investment position, not further seeking operational control, and only plans to appoint representatives to the supervisory board. Ding Shizhong, Chairman of Anta Group, stated: Anta values the long-term potential and value embodied in the PUMA brand, and believes that its recent share price has failed to fully reflect this. Anta currently has no plans to launch a full takeover of PUMA, fully respecting PUMA’s management culture and its independent governance structure as a listed company in Germany. This stands in stark contrast to the Amer Sports and Jack Wolfskin acquisition era, shifting Anta's acquisition model from “buying and transforming brands” to using capital as a link, entering the global industry governance level for strategic collaboration. Ding Shizhong stated: “In the future, both parties will collaborate in areas of high consensus to achieve complementary advantages, while strictly maintaining independence, discipline, and strategic clarity in business operations, jointly supporting the revival of the brand.” The funds for this acquisition by Anta come entirely from the group's internal cash reserves, and it is emphasized that it will not affect the 2025 dividend policy. Is Anta's move to acquire PUMA a safe bet for “bottom-fishing quality assets”, or another bold strike in its global ambitions? Atypical Acquisition Anta's purchase of PUMA shares seems to follow its familiar strategic pattern: acquiring targets with strong brand value and genes during industry or brand cycle downturns. Although PUMA’s revenue grew from 6.805 billion euros to 8.817 billion euros between 2021 and 2024, its recent performance has clearly come under pressure. In the first three quarters of 2025, its sales fell 4.3% year-on-year to 5.974 billion euros, with a cumulative loss of 309 million euros, and its share price at one point plunged nearly 65% during the year. The company expects a low double-digit decline in sales for 2025. The current challenges PUMA faces—high inventory, weak wholesale channels, and weakened brand momentum—are quite similar to FILA’s situation when Anta took it over a decade ago. This also means that PUMA, like FILA and Arc'teryx, has the opportunity to regain vitality with the help of Anta’s channels and operational capabilities. From Anta's perspective, this time it did not choose an "all-inclusive" comprehensive acquisition, and the primary reason is objective limitations. As a sports brand that once firmly held the world’s number three position, PUMA's brand assets and influence have long been on par with Nike and Adidas, and its scale is far beyond the brands that Anta has previously acquired. In 2024, PUMA’s global revenue reached 8.817 billion euros, equivalent to the overall scale of Anta Group. No Agency fashion industry analyst Tang Xiaotang thus noted: “As comprehensive sports brands, Anta and PUMA are actually competitors. That's also why Anta emphasized ‘no full takeover offer’ in its announcement, and continues to show goodwill toward cooperation.” The practical considerations of transaction structure and control may be even more critical factors. Tang Xiaotang analyzed that seeking a minority stake rather than a full acquisition may have been to accelerate the transaction process, “If a full acquisition was initiated, it would require complex board approval, and the final price would likely be much higher than the current level.” This deal is priced at 35 euros per share, which is about a 60% premium over the previous trading day. But from a longer-term perspective, due to debt pressure and other factors, the selling Pinault family now has accepted a price several hundred million euros lower than what they paid for the shares twenty years ago. “Because this 29% stake belongs to the owner of Kering Group personally, it does not require complex internal decision-making procedures,” Tang said. “In fact, the price is cheap.” A senior consultant in the footwear and apparel industry told Xin Feng that Anta’s current product positioning is still hard for consumers to directly compare to Nike, especially in the mid-to-high-end sports sector, where there is a notable gap. “That’s why the market previously generally expected Anta would choose either Reebok or PUMA for acquisition,” the person said. “Although it’s not a one-step acquisition, a 29% stake is sufficient for Anta to have a basis for driving business transformation and synergy.” The expert added, “If Anta continues to tilt resources toward its globalization strategy, further increases in stakes in the future cannot be ruled out.” Different Needs Placing the PUMA investment within Anta’s globalization strategy, it is more like “testing the waters.” Anta has previously planned to become China’s market leader by 2025 and achieve global leadership by 2030. To achieve this, a “three-step” strategy was established: “Do well with international brands in China,” “Go global with international brands,” and “Let Anta’s own brand go global,” making Anta a world brand. Currently, Anta’s globalization is proceeding on dual tracks of “own brand going overseas” and “global operations through brand acquisitions.” In April 2025, when announcing the acquisition of German outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin, Anta pointed out that this brand has high channel and community penetration in Europe, especially in German-speaking regions, which will significantly strengthen the group’s market influence there. Founded in 1948, PUMA has similar strengths. However, there are voices noting that PUMA’s main markets are in Europe and North America, which overlap with Amer Sports’ core markets. In other words, Anta is not lacking “gateways” to these markets. Another route is the emerging “management model going overseas”. Analyst Jiang Hao of Guangfa Securities believes that Anta, with its track record in investment and acquisition, could increase exchanges and cooperation with international sports and outdoor brands, become their preferred partner, and boost its discourse power and influence in the global sports market. In Tang Xiaotang’s view, although Anta has already achieved global layout in business through the acquisition of Amer Sports and others, this does not directly translate into the empowerment of the main “Anta” brand. In 2025, Anta launched a “thousand stores plan” targeting Southeast Asia, and opened its first North American store in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, but these have yet to produce significant performance growth. Anta may currently be experiencing some growth anxiety. In Q4 2025, Anta’s main brand retail sales saw low single-digit negative growth compared to the same period in 2024. FILA is also undergoing operational optimization and incubation. In the Chinese market, PUMA still has significant potential for growth. Its Greater China revenue accounts for high single digits, significantly lower than Nike and Adidas’ roughly 15%. Currently, PUMA is actively undergoing strategic transformation, purposely shrinking some wholesale businesses to improve brand health, while its DTC (direct-to-consumer) business is on the rise. If working with Anta, Anta’s vast retail network, mature digital operating capabilities, and sharp insights into emerging consumer trends in China could help PUMA consolidate and expand its business in the country. On the supply chain side, Anta’s back-end systems could optimize PUMA’s cost structure in Asia. PUMA could also complement Anta in terms of product portfolio and segmented sports sectors. Although both are in the sports fashion track, FILA focuses on high-end tennis and golf, while PUMA is stronger in football, running, basketball, and racing. Both can cooperate in diversified sports events, fashion styles, and category management. Timing-wise, as PUMA began with football, the upcoming 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup provides a crucial marketing window for the brand’s revitalization and growth. Jiang Hao predicts that 2025 will be a strategic adjustment year for PUMA, 2026 a transition year, with the goal of restoring inventory to normal levels by the end of 2026 and resuming growth in 2027. How PUMA’s integration into Anta's globalization plan will synergize and transform remains to be seen by the market. Risk Disclosure and Disclaimer The market has risks, investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it consider the individual investment goals, financial status, or needs of specific users. Users should consider whether the opinions, views, or conclusions in this article suit their own circumstances. You invest at your own risk.