Adidas Launches Auction For Reebok

Adidas Launches Auction For Reebok

Adidas has launched the auction to sell its Reebok brand with the first round of bids to be submitted next week, according to a report from Reuters.

On February 16, Adidas AG formally announced plans to divest its underperforming Reebok brand after announcing last December it had begun a review over a possible sale.

Sources told Reuters the bidding faces risks due to political tensions against Western companies in China boycotts. Nike, H&M and some other brands have been facing calls for boycotts after speaking out against alleged human-rights abuses in the cotton-producing region of Xinjiang.

Among possible bidders, sources told Reuters, are Anta Sports and Li Ning, both based in China; Korea’s Fila Holdings; and U.S.-based Wolverine Worldwide.

Potential financial investors including TPG, Sycamore, Cerberus and Apollo.