Puma Shares Surge on Takeover Rumors Despite Family Denial

German sportswear giant Puma saw its share price surge by over 11% on Wednesday following reports from Manager Magazin indicating that two prominent investors are preparing a takeover bid. The news has sparked significant market interest and speculation regarding the future ownership of the brand.

According to the German magazine, Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands, and Alex Dibelius, head of private equity firm CVC's German operations, have both expressed interest in acquiring the 29% stake currently held by the French Pinault family. This dual interest could potentially pave the way for a competitive bidding war for the significant shareholding.

However, the Pinault family's holding company, Artemis, has swiftly moved to counter these reports. A source close to Artemis stated that there is no active sales process underway for its Puma stake, despite acknowledging interest from "some parties." The German media report was explicitly described as "factually false" by the source. This denial aligns with a recent Reuters report, which indicated that Artemis is not prepared to sell its stake at Puma's current market value and is not engaged in any active deal discussions.

Despite the family's denial, the initial report positioned Puma as the biggest gainer on Europe's STOXX 600 index on Wednesday. This positive movement comes even as the company's shares have halved in value over the past year. Neither Puma nor CVC offered comments on the report, and Authentic Brands did not respond to requests for comment.

The potential suitors are well-known in the investment world. Authentic Brands, led by Salter, has a history of acquiring and revitalizing distressed brands, including clothing chains Forever 21 and Aeropostale. Notably, Authentic Brands acquired Reebok from Adidas in 2021, successfully fending off competition from rival suitor CVC in that particular deal.

The Pinault family initially acquired its stake in Puma from luxury goods group Kering in 2018, as Kering divested the shares to sharpen its focus on its core luxury business. While Artemis currently denies an active sale, Bloomberg had previously reported in August that the family's holding company was sounding out potential buyers for its approximately $960 million Puma stake.