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In breaking news, German sportswear giant adidas has officially announced plans to sell its underperforming Reebok brand, which it acquired 15 years ago for $3.8 billion USD.
According to Reuters, as part of its five-year strategic plan, adidas has already begun a formal process to divest its Boston-based subsidiary Reebok. adidas will report Reebok as a “discontinued operation” from the first quarter of 2021 on March 10, and will additionally publish its 2020 results.
“Reebok and adidas will be able to significantly better realize their growth potential independently of each other,” adidas CEO Kaspar Rorsted said in a statement acquired by Reuters.
Trusted banking sources state that Reebok could sell for over $1.2 billion USD, which is far below what adidas paid for it. In the third quarter of 2020, Reebok’s net sales fell 7% to $488 million after falling 44% in the previous quarter.
adidas also has a few other options including spinning Reebok as a stand-alone public company or selling it to a private equity firm or a major sports retailer. Possible buyers at the time include Permira and Triton as well as VF Corp. Keep it locked here as the story unfolds.
