Shares in Anta, China’s largest sportswear brand by sales, fell more than 7 per cent after a US short seller alleged fraudulent activity at the company, which earlier this year completed a €5.6bn takeover of Finland’s Amer Sports.
Hong Kong-listed shares in the Chinese company were down 7.3 per cent before it suspended trading in its stock, after short-seller Muddy Waters published a report saying Anta has secretly controlled distributors to fraudulently boost its profit margins.
In March, Anta led a €5.6bn acquisition of Finland’s Amer Sports, the maker of Wilson tennis rackets and Louisville Slugger baseball bats, highlighting its ambitions to expand beyond China where the company derives almost all its revenue.