Anta’s €1.5 Billion Bet on Puma Signals a Power Shift in Global Sportswear

The global sportswear industry entered a new phase in January 2026 when Chinese giant Anta Sports announced it would acquire a 29.06 percent stake in German brand Puma SE for €1.5 billion.

The deal, which makes Anta Puma’s largest shareholder, is far more than a financial transaction. It represents a structural shift in how global sports brands are built, owned, and grown one in which Chinese capital and operational strength are now as influential as European heritage and American marketing muscle  .

Anta agreed to pay €35 per share for 43 million Puma shares from Groupe Artémis, the investment arm of the Pinault family. The price represents a premium of over 60 percent to Puma’s market price before the announcement, underlining Anta’s belief that Puma is deeply undervalued in its current phase. Puma’s stock had fallen to near decade-low levels after years of sluggish growth, operational inefficiencies, and inconsistent brand momentum. Anta is effectively betting that Puma’s struggles are cyclical not structural.

For Anta, the move fits into a long-term strategy that has already reshaped global sportswear. Over the past 15 years, the Chinese company has built one of the world’s most diverse sports portfolios, owning or controlling brands such as Fila, Descente, Kolon Sport, Jack Wolfskin, and Amer Sports (which includes Arc’teryx, Salomon, and Wilson). Rather than absorbing brands into a single corporate identity, Anta runs a “multi-brand, single-engine” model: it allows brands to retain their culture while plugging them into Anta’s world-class supply chains, data systems, and retail infrastructure.

Puma offers something Anta has never fully had a truly global performance-sports brand with deep roots in football, motorsport, and street culture. Puma’s sponsorship of clubs, national teams, and Formula One gives it reach across Europe, Africa, and Latin America, markets where Anta’s presence is limited. Conversely, Anta dominates China, the world’s fastest-growing sportswear market, where Puma generates only about 7 percent of its revenue. The logic of the partnership is simple: Puma gives Anta global credibility, Anta gives Puma access to Asia’s growth engine.

The timing is also telling. Puma is in the middle of what its new CEO Arthur Hoeld has called a “year of reset.” The brand has cut hundreds of jobs, reduced wholesale exposure, cleaned up inventories, and launched its biggest marketing campaign ever, “Go Wild,” fronted by stars like Rihanna and A$AP Rocky. While these moves have weighed on short-term profits, they are designed to restore long-term brand strength. Anta is stepping in just as the painful restructuring phase peaks, positioning itself to benefit when Puma’s turnaround gains traction  .

For the Pinault family, selling Puma is part of a different strategy. Their holding company Artémis has accumulated over €7 billion in debt through investments in luxury, media, and entertainment. Puma, once part of the Kering luxury empire, had become a non-core asset. Its declining valuation made it a liability rather than a pillar. The €1.5 billion sale gives Artémis immediate liquidity and allows the family to refocus on luxury brands like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, which remain their strategic priority.

What makes this deal especially important is that Anta is not seeking full control. Puma will remain a German-listed company with its own management and identity. Anta plans to take board seats and provide strategic and operational support, not to run Puma day-to-day. This approach mirrors how Anta handled Fila and Amer Sports both of which flourished after Anta applied its digital retail systems, supply chain discipline, and China-focused growth strategy.

The biggest opportunity lies in direct-to-consumer retail and data-driven operations. Puma has struggled with fragmented wholesale distribution, which has hurt margins and brand consistency. Anta, by contrast, is a global leader in digital retail and supply-chain analytics. By plugging Puma into its systems, Anta can help the brand move more products directly to consumers, improve pricing control, and respond faster to fashion and performance trends.

Regulatory hurdles remain. European authorities will scrutinize the deal under new foreign-subsidy and investment rules. But because Anta is not buying outright control and has committed to preserving Puma’s independence, most analysts expect approval.

In strategic terms, the Anta-Puma deal marks the arrival of a new global order in sportswear. For decades, Nike and Adidas defined the industry from the US and Europe. Today, Chinese companies like Anta are no longer just manufacturers or regional brands they are global architects of sports business. Puma’s future will now be shaped not only in Herzogenaurach, but also in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

If Anta succeeds, Puma’s €1.5 billion price tag may look like a bargain. If it fails, it will still stand as one of the most ambitious attempts ever to bridge Western sporting heritage with Eastern industrial scale. Either way, the balance of power in global sportswear has unmistakably shifted.