A shopper walks past an Adidas store in Miami, Florida. Adidas is reported to have reached an agreement to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands for nearly $2.5 billion. Photo: Getty Images
A shopper walks past an Adidas store in Miami, Florida. Adidas is reported to have reached an agreement to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands for nearly $2.5 billion. Photo: Getty Images
A shopper walks past an Adidas store in Miami, Florida. Adidas is reported to have reached an agreement to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands for nearly $2.5 billion. Photo: Getty Images
A shopper walks past an Adidas store in Miami, Florida. Adidas is reported to have reached an agreement to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands for nearly $2.5 billion. Photo: Getty Images

Adidas agrees to sell struggling Reebok for $2.5bn to Authentic Brands


Deepthi Nair
  • English
  • Arabic

German sportswear company Adidas has entered into an agreement to sell its underperforming Reebok business to retail conglomerate Authentic Brands Group for up to €2.1 billion ($2.5bn).

The majority of the price will be paid in cash at closing of the transaction, with the rest coming as deferred and contingent consideration, the sportswear manufacturer said in a statement on Thursday. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. The majority of the cash proceeds will be distributed among shareholders, Adidas said.

“Reebok has been a valued part of Adidas, and we are grateful for the contributions the brand and the team behind it have made to our company,” Kasper Rorsted, chief executive of Adidas, said. “With this change in ownership, we believe the Reebok brand will be well-positioned for long-term success.”

Jamie Salter, chairman and chief executive of Authentic Brands, said the deal is “an important milestone” in the company’s growth. “We are committed to preserving Reebok’s integrity, innovation and values – including its presence in bricks and mortar.”

Authentic Brands, which filed recently for an initial public offering in the US, had set its sights on Reebok for many years and “we’re excited to finally bring this iconic brand into the fold”, Mr Salter said.

“Reebok not only holds a special place in the minds and hearts of consumers around the world, but the brand also has expansive global distribution,” he said in a separate statement.

Authentic Brands already owns numerous bankrupt brands such as Barneys New York, Brooks Brothers, Forever 21 and Aeropostale.

Sneaker maker and athletic wear company Reebok currently operates in 80 countries, with around 70 per cent of its business coming from outside the US and Canada. Authentic Brands aims to maintain the brand’s global footprint across retail, wholesale and e-commerce channels, the company said.

We are committed to preserving Reebok’s integrity, innovation and values – including its presence in bricks and mortar
Jamie Salter,
chairman and chief executive, Authentic Brands

Reebok has been formally on the block since early this year after Adidas had tried for more than a decade to revive the brand’s performance.

The brand’s global headquarters will remain in Boston, the AB statement said. Reebok’s operations will continue in the US and Canada, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Russia after the transaction.

Adidas acquired Reebok, which is known for creating the first spiked running shoe, for $3.8bn in 2006 to fend off Nike. At the time, the acquisition included the Rockport, CCM Hockey and Greg Norman brands, which Adidas later divested for €0.4bn.

In 2016, Reebok initiated a turnaround plan called ‘Muscle Up’ through which the brand was able to significantly improve its growth and profitability prospects. In March this year, Adidas designed a strategy to significantly increase sales and profitability and gain market share by 2025, according to the statement.

Following this evaluation, Adidas decided to initiate a formal process to divest Reebok in February 2021.

Shoes line a wall in an Adidas store in Miami, Florida. Reebok has been formally on the block since early this year after Adidas had tried for more than a decade to revive the brand’s performance. Photo: Getty Images/AFP
Shoes line a wall in an Adidas store in Miami, Florida. Reebok has been formally on the block since early this year after Adidas had tried for more than a decade to revive the brand’s performance. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

The deal will not change Adidas’s financial outlook for this year or its previously announced long-term targets, the company said.

Adidas reported that its net income improved by more than €600m to €387m in the second quarter. The company’s revenues grew 51 per cent to €5.08bn in the second quarter.

Wholesale revenues as well as sales in Adidas’ retail stores grew at a high-double-digit rate while e-commerce revenues declined 14 per cent in the quarter, reflecting the exceptionally high growth in the prior year period when digital revenues had almost doubled.

“Sales in our strategic growth markets EMEA and North America almost doubled. Revenues in our key categories of football and outdoor even grew at triple-digit rates,” Mr Rorsted said. “This momentum gives us the confidence to increase our full-year outlook despite the external challenges that our industry continues to face.”

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Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

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Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
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Investment stage: Pre-seed
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Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Abu Dhabi GP schedule

Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm

Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
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TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

MATCH INFO

World Cup 2022 qualifier

UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm

Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How it works

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What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)

Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)

Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)

Wednesday

Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)

Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)

Norwich City v Everton (9pm)

Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)

Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)

Thursday

Burnley v Watford (9pm)

Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)

Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)

List of alleged parties

 May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members

May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party

Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff

Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson

Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party

Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters

Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz

Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party

Third Test

Day 3, stumps

India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151

India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining

Updated: August 14, 2021, 4:59 AM`