Adidas AG said it has agreed to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for up to about $2.5 billion, roughly 15 years after acquiring the U.S. fitness brand and trying to revamp it.
The German sporting-goods company managed to improve the Reebok business, but its sales lagged behind those of Adidas itself and dragged down the group’s profits.
Adidas, which in December 2020 said it was exploring a Reebok sale, acquired the brand in 2006 for roughly 3 billion euros as part of a bid to expand in the U.S. The company put the value of the deal with Authentic Brands at as high as €2.1 billion.
Over the past few years, brand-management company Authentic Brands has made a name for itself by picking up downtrodden retail brands including JCPenney and Forever 21.
Adidas on Thursday said the majority of the transaction will be paid in cash at the deal’s closing, with the remainder made up of deferred and contingent fees. The company said it plans to share much of the cash proceeds with shareholders after the deal is expected to close in next year’s first quarter.
