Daiwa: ANTA SPORTS (02020) becomes PUMA's largest shareholder; reiterates "Buy" rating.

Daiwa released a research report stating that ANTA SPORTS (02020) has completed the acquisition of a 29.06% stake in PUMA SE for a cash consideration of EUR 1.51 billion; the bank reiterates its "Buy" rating on ANTA and views it as its top pick in China's sportswear and overall consumer sector. The bank noted that the transaction price represents a premium of approximately 50% over PUMA's latest closing price, implying a price-to-sales ratio of approximately 0.7x based on Bloomberg's average market forecasts for 2026 to 2027. Upon completion of the acquisition, ANTA becomes PUMA's largest shareholder, marking another milestone in its "single focus, multi-brand, globalization" strategy, which is expected to help expand its exposure to the global sporting goods market. ANTA plans to seek entry into PUMA's supervisory board and has stated that PUMA will retain independent governance, brand autonomy, corporate culture, and identity, and currently has no intention of making a full takeover offer for the remaining shares of PUMA. The bank believes that, leveraging ANTA's turnaround capabilities and its DTC-led model, improvements at PUMA in China could become a relatively quick win. It expects that the likelihood of ANTA pursuing further M&A in the near term may be relatively low, and that empowering and developing brands such as Jack Wolfskin, Puma, and MAIA Active may be the current higher priority. It also expects that Jack Wolfskin will roll out more brand promotion activities starting from the fourth quarter of 2026.