Adidas to sell Reebok to ABG for $2.5 billion.
Adidas, the world’s second-largest sports equipment company based in Germany, has ended its 15-year cohabitation with Reebok. As Reebok’s profitability improvement has slowed, it is analyzed that it has decided to sell it.
Reuters and other foreign media reported on the 13th that Adidas will sell Reebok to ABG for up to $2.5 billion. Reebok said it will continue to operate in the U.S., Asia Pacific, Europe and Russia, based in Boston after the sale.
Established in England in 1895, Reebok is a global sports brand that surpassed Nike and Adidas in the 1980s. Adidas, which mainly targeted European and Asian markets, bought Reebok for $3.8 billion in 2006 to keep the U.S. market in check with its competitor Nike.
However, contrary to expectations, Reebok continued to perform poorly, and Adidas shareholders have continuously demanded the sale of Reebok. Casper Rosted, who took over in 2016, tried to improve Reebok’s profitability, but Reebok’s performance fell short of Adidas and eventually decided to sell it after the coronavirus outbreak occurred, according to the news agency.
ABG, which bought Reebok, is a global brand management company with more than 50 consumer goods brands and portrait rights of famous people such as Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley and Shaquille O’Neill. ABG acquired Brooks Brothers and Forever 21, a U.S. clothing company that went bankrupt last year due to coronavirus 19. It is preparing to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange this year.
“We’ve been paying attention to Reebok for years and we’re happy to finally take over the iconic brand,” ABG CEO Jamie Salter said. “We’ll do our best to preserve Reebok’s integrity, innovation and value.”