A low-cost manufacturer for global brands when it was founded in a rural Chinese backwater three decades ago, Anta Sports is aiming to rival Adidas and Nike with a planned €5.6bn takeover of Finland’s Amer Sports.
The company, which is China’s largest sportswear brand and is leading a consortium of bidders, says it is confident the deal will close this week as scheduled. It will give Anta a 58 per cent stake in Amer and ownership of brands including Wilson tennis rackets and Louisville Slugger baseball bats.
“With the acquisition of Amer, the future of Anta’s global expansion will definitely change,” chief executive Ding Shizhong told reporters last week.