Anta, Li Ning and ASICS said to have their eyes on Puma

Amid the reshaping of the global sportswear landscape, Germany's Puma, the weak link between Adidas and Nike, is reportedly being courted by China's Anta Sports, Bloomberg has learned. A Puma takeover has been a recurring topic since the company left the Kering fold, after the group failed, like other luxury players before it, to build a bridge between luxury and mass-market fashion.

Bloomberg reports that the Chinese group Anta Sports is considering acquiring the German brand Puma. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Anta has hired an adviser to assess a possible bid and could team up with an investment fund. Other players, such as China's Li Ning and Japan's ASICS, are also said to be in the running, the agency says.

Takeover speculation is not new and has recently sent Puma's shares soaring (notably +16% on August 25, +17% on September 17).

Artemis, the Pinault family's holding company (Kering) and Puma's main shareholder, with 29% of its capital, has said that it is examining all options. In September, a source close to the matter told Reuters that it would not sell its stake at the then market value. With a market cap of €2.5bn before today's opening (with a sharp 12% rise expected), in 2018 Kering transferred Puma to Artemis as the group refocused on luxury.

Confronted with a fiercely competitive market, Puma is struggling to keep up. Its Chief executive Arthur Hoeld announced a turnaround plan in October: cutting back on discounts, refocusing marketing, streamlining the range and axing 900 jobs. Since the start of the year, the share has lost 60% of its value.

Anta owns several brands, including its namesake label, Fila and Descente. It is also the main shareholder of Amer Sports, the parent company of Salomon, Arc'teryx, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic.