Can Anta or Li-Ning save Puma?

What happened: Puma’s shares surged 19% following reports last week that Chinese sportswear leaders Anta Sports and Li Ning are exploring early-stage interest in acquiring the German brand. The stock jumped from its November 26 close to December 2, though it remains down 54% year-to-date, giving the company a market value of 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion). Anta has hired advisers to assess a possible bid and may partner with a private equity firm if it proceeds. Li Ning, valued at $5.8 billion, has also held financing talks with banks, though the company emphasized that it has not conducted any substantive evaluations relating to Puma. Valuation hurdles remain The 54% decline in Puma’s share price this year has positioned the brand as a potential acquisition target, but any deal would need to overcome valuation expectations from Puma’s largest shareholder, Artémis, the Pinault family’s holding company. Artémis owned 29% of Puma at the end of last year and had previously approached potential buyers, though valuation remains a major obstacle given the stock is trading near its lowest level since 2016. For China’s top sportswear players, Puma would offer global scale and brand heritage as they expand internationally. Anta, valued at $31 billion, previously demonstrated its capacity for major cross-border deals when it teamed up with private equity firm FountainVest Partners in 2019 to buy Amer Sports in a $5.2 billion transaction. Puma reported sales of 8.8 billion euros ($10.2 billion) last year with net profit of 281.6 million euros ($327 million). Chief Executive Arthur Hoeld is working to stabilize the 1948-founded brand through workforce reductions of 900 positions and a strategic shift toward three core categories: running, football, and training. The Jing Take: Interest in acquiring Puma underscores how rapidly China’s sportswear industry is evolving from domestic expansion to international acquisition strategy. The potential bids highlight three structural shifts. First, Chinese brands are moving beyond competing with Nike and Adidas at home to buying global scale outright. Anta’s track record with Amer Sports shows that Chinese players are no longer content with incremental market-share gains, and they are strategizing to build multi-brand international portfolios. A Puma deal would accelerate this shift, giving Anta or Li Ning instant reach on a global scale, as well as technical product pipelines, and deeper credibility in general overseas. Financial firepower Secondly, the pursuit of a distressed European asset reflects the financial strength and rising confidence of China’s sportswear leaders. While Puma’s valuation has slumped, Anta and Li Ning have maintained solid market caps and are generating cash, positioning them to capitalize on foreign brands under strategic pressure. Third, Chinese ownership of Puma would reshape domestic market dynamics. A locally owned international brand could leverage heritage positioning and technical credibility to compete differently than existing domestic players, creating pressure on mid-tier Chinese brands that lack comparable global recognition. This would likely compress margins across the sector and require faster product development cycles to maintain differentiation. Despite recent struggles, Puma remains a globally recognized brand with strong heritage, and valuable cultural cachet and lifestyle franchises, making it an attractive fast-track expansion vehicle for Chinese players seeking international scale. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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Can Anta or Li-Ning save Puma?