The first major cross-border acquisition by a Chinese company in 2026 has arrived, creating significant waves in the sports industry's capital markets. On January 27, ANTA Sports announced it has reached a share purchase agreement with Groupe Artémis, an investment company controlled by the Pinault family, to acquire a 29.06% equity stake in PUMA SE, the parent company of the globally recognized sports brand PUMA. The transaction, valued at approximately €1.5 billion (around 12 billion RMB), will be settled in cash. Upon completion, ANTA Sports will become the single largest shareholder of PUMA, marking the inaugural major cross-border acquisition by a Chinese enterprise in 2026.
Mr. Ding Shizhong, Chairman of the Board of ANTA Sports, stated that becoming the largest shareholder of PUMA represents a significant milestone in the company's ongoing implementation of its "Single Focus, Multi-Brand, Global Reach" development strategy. He emphasized that this move will further accelerate ANTA's globalization process and contribute to the shared prosperity of the global sports industry, including in China. ANTA's acquisition history in the sporting goods sector has been consistent and strategic, encompassing brands such as FILA, DESCENTE, KOLON SPORT, Amer Sports, MAIA ACTIVE, and Jack Wolfskin. Many of these acquired brands have experienced remarkable turnarounds under ANTA's management. The acquisition of PUMA is considered a crucial step in ANTA's global strategy, and the strategic rationale behind it warrants deep industry consideration.
Why did ANTA specifically choose PUMA? Discussing the core reasons for the acquisition, Mr. Ding Shizhong pointed to the long-term value and development potential inherent in the PUMA brand. He noted that high-quality brand DNA and years of value accumulation are rare finds. Furthermore, PUMA's stock price in recent months had not fully reflected the brand's intrinsic long-term value, which was a key factor in ANTA's decisive move. On a deeper level, the acquisition is driven by the high degree of complementarity between PUMA and ANTA's existing global brand portfolio. This complementarity spans three dimensions: product categories, brand positioning, and geographic markets, creating a perfect strategic fit.
In terms of product categories, PUMA has deep expertise in professional sports such as football, basketball, athletics, and motorsports, which will effectively fill gaps in ANTA's portfolio and strengthen its presence in these specific sporting arenas. Regarding brand positioning, PUMA's inherent streetwear and fashion appeal effectively complements the style of ANTA's current brand lineup, enriching the group's brand hierarchy and catering to diverse consumer segments. Geographically, PUMA possesses strong brand influence and established sales channels in North America and Europe. This will pave the way for ANTA's global strategy by effectively filling the layout gap in these core markets and further完善ing its global distribution network.
For PUMA, partnering with ANTA also represents a major development opportunity. With years of experience in the global sporting goods market, ANTA brings extensive global resources, proven multi-brand operational expertise, robust DTC capabilities, and a comprehensive back-end support system. As a major shareholder, ANTA is expected to inject strong momentum into PUMA's development, helping to further unleash the brand's value.
PUMA's century-long journey, from a small brother-owned workshop to an international brand with its share of ups and downs, is now entering a new chapter. The brand was founded in 1919 by brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The small shoe workshop was officially upgraded to "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" in 1924. After years of development, the factory eventually split into two international sportswear giants: Adolf Dassler went on to lead adidas, while Rudolf Dassler officially established the PUMA brand in 1948. Over the following decades, PUMA experienced a volatile development path. It rose rapidly through precise market positioning and product strategy to become a globally recognized sports brand, but also faced challenges including conservative strategy and weak marketing, leading to sales declines and shrinking market share. Ownership has changed hands several times: in 1989, Rudolf's sons sold a 72% stake to a Swiss company, and in 2007, Kering Group took PUMA under its wing.
PUMA's connection with the Chinese market began in 1999 through an agency model. It established its first Chinese subsidiary in 2003 to begin localized operations. In 2011, PUMA acquired 100% of its long-term joint venture, Liberty China Holding Ltd., further strengthening control over its operations in China and deepening its localization efforts. ANTA's entry now marks a historic transformation in this century-old international sports brand's relationship with the Chinese market, opening a new chapter in its development.
Following the completion of the transaction, ANTA Sports intends to appoint a suitable representative to PUMA's Supervisory Board. This representative will work closely with other board members and employee representatives. ANTA has committed to fully preserving PUMA's deep-rooted brand identity and core DNA. The two companies will collaborate in areas of high consensus while maintaining independent operational systems. ANTA Group has also explicitly stated that it currently has no plans to launch a full takeover offer for PUMA. The deal is expected to be finalized before the end of 2026, pending approval from relevant regulatory authorities and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Notably, this acquisition transcends simple capital expansion. It signifies that the globalization of Chinese enterprises is evolving from "capital going global" and "manufacturing going global" to a new phase encompassing "brands going global," "management going global," and "ecosystem going global." The influence and voice of Chinese companies in the global industrial landscape are continuously rising.
ANTA's globalization journey began with the acquisition of FILA in 2009, a pivotal starting point for its multi-brand strategy. While other domestic sports brands were aggressively opening overseas flagship stores at the time, ANTA took a different path. It acquired the trademark ownership and operational rights for the Greater China region of the then-marginalized and loss-making century-old Italian brand FILA from Belle International for 332 million RMB. ANTA's intervention completely rewrote FILA's fate in China. The ANTA team repositioned the brand in the Chinese market, shifting away from the traditional focus on competition and performance to create a "fashion + sport" niche in the premium segment, accurately aligning with domestic consumption upgrade trends. Simultaneously, ANTA rebuilt FILA's operational team, restructured its retail system, reshaped its supply chain, and, most importantly, revitalized the brand's cultural core. This brand rejuvenation was not an overnight success; it took five years for FILA to move from annual losses at the time of acquisition to achieving break-even and sustained profitability. Subsequently, FILA's revenue soared: exceeding 6.5 billion RMB in 2019, becoming the first brand under ANTA to surpass 20 billion RMB in annual revenue in 2021, and reaching approximately 26.63 billion RMB in 2024, accounting for over one-third of ANTA Group's total revenue. FILA's successful turnaround is now considered a classic case study of a Chinese company revitalizing an international brand.
Following FILA, ANTA's acquisitions have been methodical. Another classic case is the acquisition of Amer Sports, the parent company of Arc'teryx. In 2019, an investor consortium led by ANTA Group, including Tencent, FountainVest Partners, and Anamered Investments, completed the acquisition of Amer Sports for 4.66 billion euros, bringing several globally renowned premium sports brands like Arc'teryx, Salomon, and Wilson into the fold. Mr. Ding Shizhong described this as the most significant decision of his entrepreneurial career and the largest cross-border acquisition in the history of the Chinese sporting goods industry at the time. This acquisition also lived up to expectations. Through precise brand empowerment and operational optimization, ANTA helped Amer Sports quickly return to profitability, achieving its 500 million euro performance target within five years. Under ANTA's management, Arc'teryx rapidly captured the high-end outdoor market both domestically and internationally, becoming an industry benchmark. In February 2024, Amer Sports successfully IPO'd on the New York Stock Exchange, with its market capitalization once surpassing 100 billion RMB, once again validating ANTA's multi-brand operational capabilities.
Reviewing ANTA's acquisition history reveals a clear, deliberate, and focused strategy, avoiding blind expansion. The company has consistently concentrated on the core sporting goods and apparel sector, adhering to clear selection principles: prioritizing targets that align with its development strategy and possess strong brand value and quality DNA, aiming to achieve brand value enhancement through strategic reshaping. From establishing joint ventures for DESCENTE and KOLON SPORT in 2016-2017, to acquiring the women's activewear brand MAIA ACTIVE in 2023, announcing the acquisition of the German outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin in April 2025, and now adding PUMA to its portfolio, ANTA has quietly become a dominant force in sporting goods M&A.
Looking back to 1991, ANTA was just one among many shoe factories in Jinjiang, Fujian. When Mr. Ding Shizhong hung the "ANTA" sign on his family's factory, it became the first domestic sporting goods enterprise to propose building its own brand. Over more than three decades, ANTA has transformed from a local manufacturer into a global sporting goods giant managing multiple international brands. It has evolved from following international brands to now nurturing them through capital deployment and operational empowerment. A vast global multi-brand sporting goods enterprise landscape has taken shape.
The success of ANTA's M&A strategy has inspired many companies to attempt replicating its path. However, outsiders often focus on the highlight moments of the acquisitions, overlooking the true core competency: powerful operational management and brand empowerment capabilities. As industry consensus holds, the acquisition itself is just an action; buying a brand is not particularly difficult. The real challenge lies in the post-acquisition operation and integration. ANTA's success stems from viewing M&A as a test of "managing complexity" rather than a mere race for "brand quantity."
Taking the integration of Amer Sports as an example, the company operated in dozens of countries with multiple brands and highly diverse team cultures, presenting immense integration challenges. ANTA's solution was to segment its business into three pillars: Performance Apparel (led by Arc'teryx), Outdoor & Mountain Sports (led by Salomon), and Ball & Racquet Sports (led by Wilson), granting each pillar autonomy. Simultaneously, ANTA helped Amer Sports adopt a vertically integrated DTC mindset, expanding its own retail channels globally to reduce over-reliance on distributors. It is noteworthy that while the vast majority of sporting goods companies historically relied on distributor models, ANTA began promoting the DTC model across all its acquired brands starting with FILA. Today, the group's overall DTC model penetration exceeds 90%, leading a retail transformation within the global sporting goods industry.
Furthermore, ANTA adheres to the principle of "acquiring without replacing leadership," placing full trust and support in the original management teams of the international brands, which is key to its successful integration. From ANTA's perspective, brand revitalization is not about a complete overhaul but finding common ground for development, injecting new operational ideas and resource support while preserving the brand's core DNA to achieve secondary growth. Over years of development, ANTA has refined a mature set of operational and brand management methodologies. This methodology, in turn, empowers all acquired brands, forming the core support for their rapid growth. Additionally, ANTA has established a global shared services mechanism, integrating key functions like data, human resources, and supply chain, effectively avoiding the common post-acquisition issue of "isolated silos" and building a synergistic brand ecosystem. This ecosystem is then leveraged to empower global partners throughout the globalization process.
ANTA's success has not only propelled its own global development but has also spurred an industry-wide upgrade within the Chinese sporting goods market. An increasing number of Chinese sports brands are experimenting with multi-brand strategies and DTC retail channels. The Chinese market itself has become the most vibrant and fastest-growing regional market for global sports brands, simultaneously boosting the domestic sports economy and establishing China as a core engine for global industry growth. ANTA's journey from follower to leader serves as a vivid microcosm of Chinese corporate globalization. The underlying logic—precise strategic planning, professional operational capabilities, and an open ecosystem mindset—provides a valuable reference model for the global expansion of other Chinese companies. This also confirms that the globalization of Chinese enterprises has long moved beyond simple product export to a comprehensive出海 of brands, management, and ecosystems.