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Photo/Liu Ling

Dec. 10 (NBD) – A consortium led by China's sportswear brand Anta Sports (02020.HK) is nearing a takeover of Finland's Amer Sports Corporation (Amer Sports), owner of multiple brands including high-end outdoor gear maker Arc'tyrex and Wilson which produces tennis rackets.

The consortium, consisting of Anta, tech giant Tencent, private equity firm FountainVest Partners, and Anamered Investments (owned by Lulumelon's founder Chip Wilson), has announced Friday a voluntary recommended public cash tender offer by the newly-incorporated Mascot Bidco Oy for all the issued and outstanding shares in Amer Sports, which are valued at 4.6 billion euros (5.2 billion U.S. dollars) with 40.0 euros ( 45.6 U.S. dollars) per share.

The offer marks the biggest deal among overseas acquisitions and mergers by Chinese companies this year, and industry insiders deem the overseas buyout as a milestone in China's sports product industry. 

Amer Sport's board of directors has unanimously recommended shareholders to accept the tender offer, while a number of major shareholders have already irrevocably undertaken to accept the offer.

The tender offer promises high level of independence to Amer Sports, which will operate independently from Anta and have a separate board of directors. The consortium has invited current president and CEO of Amer Sports Heikki Takala and his key executives to remain on their posts, which Takala regards as investors' strong confidence in their strategy and business model.

The proposition is described by the consortium as mutually beneficial, as it offers a significant cash premium to Amer Sports' shareholders and brings an opportunity for the consortium to fully unleash Amer Sports' growth potential, especially in the fast-growing Chinese market, where the sales of sportswear have been growing at twice the pace of general apparel market, according to Financial Times.

"We are excited to bring these premium international brands and products (of Amer Sports) to Chinese consumers, who increasingly seek high-end products with outstanding qualities and heritage in various niche and specialized sports segments," said Ding Shizhong, chairman and CEO of Anta.

The buyout marks a new stage of Anta's continuing efforts towards brand diversification and internationalization. Prior to the tender offer, Anta acquired the brand license of Fila in China in 2009 and Japanese sports brand Descente in 2016. 

As for Tencent, the investment matches the giant's strategy to further explore the industrial Internet sector, which was considered by Tencent's founder Ma Huateng as a developmental focus in the mobile Internet field. 

Martin Lau, president and executive director of Tencent, said that they hope to help enhance the two companies' operational efficiency and seize future growth opportunities via Tencent's smart retailing initiatives, which are backed by the company's advanced technologies and enormous user base on its social platforms. 

Smart retailing is considered by Tencent as an important component of its exploration in industrial Internet. Industrial insiders expect that the parties will cooperate in digital marketing and data assets operation with Tencent's technological support.

Detailed information about the tender offer will be published on or about December 20, and the deal is currently expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2019 at the latest.

 

Email: limenglin@nbd.com.cn

Editor: Li Menglin