Amer Sports: Management can stay after buyout

Salomon, Wilson, Arc'Teryx and Atomic will soon pass under the thum control of a Chinese consortium. Or at least, the €4.6 billion takeover bid presented by Mascot Bidco Oy appears to suit the group's current management.

In a statement, the board of directors detailed on Monday, Dec. 17 the offer of the consortium led by Chinese giant Anta Sports, as well as the fund Fountain Vest, the company Anamered Investments and the Chinese group Tencent. The offer was announced at 40 euros cash for each share, which is about 63% more than the share price seen over the last 12 months. Amer Sports is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. The board is advising shareholders to accept.

The main point of the document was that the business of Amer Sports should not be directly related to Anta Sports and that the CEO, Heikki Takala, is "invited to continue to lead the activity of the group, retaining his management team". The board of directors should be changed after the repurchase, however.

Specifically, three main points were identified for Amer Sports group brands. First off, the consortium "intends to invest significantly in time, resources and efforts to help Amer Sports accelerate on several strategic points, including the expansion of its activities in the Chinese market". The new resources provided should allow the group to become more responsive and assert its ability to "respond to the demands of rapidly changing markets by optimizing products and services in response to consumer demands". The brands will also have access to the Anta Sports distribution network as well as production and R&D resources in China.

The official offer is expected to be published Dec. 20, while the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019.

Amer Sports: Management can stay after buyout

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