Anta Sports completed its 1.51 billion euro purchase of a 29.06 per cent stake in Puma. The transaction makes the Chinese sportswear group the German brand’s largest shareholder.

The cash deal, valued at approximately US$1.7 billion, closed after clearing regulatory scrutiny and customary closing conditions.

Shares came directly from Artémis, the private investment arm run by the French billionaire Pinault family. Artémis had held the stake since French luxury group Kering distributed Puma shares to its investors in 2018.

Funding came in full from existing cash balances and committed credit lines. The transaction transfers European sportswear equity directly into Chinese corporate hands.

Buying established Western sports brands gives Anta immediate scale without building new labels from scratch. The group already controls a multi-brand stable spanning Fila’s Greater China rights, Arc’teryx parent Amer Sports, Descente and Kolon Sport.

Securing the largest block in Puma provides direct exposure to global football, running and lifestyle distribution channels across Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia. The acquisition gives the Chinese group international scale to challenge Nike and Adidas on neutral turf.

For Puma, the transaction opens deeper supply-chain and distribution access across Mainland China’s lower-tier cities, where Anta commands thousands of monobrand franchise doors. Puma has struggled against domestic substitution and consumer trading-down across East Asia over recent quarters.

Operational risk sits in management alignment. Anta typically allows acquired international brands to operate with independent design teams while overhauling back-end sourcing and regional retail networks.

Initial proposals to acquire the cornerstone block from Artémis were submitted earlier this year.

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