HONG KONG: China’s Anta Sports Products has offered to buy 29 per cent of struggling German sportswear firm Puma from France’s Pinault family, three people with knowledge of the talks said.

Anta made the offer a few weeks ago and has secured financing for the acquisition should a deal go ahead, said two of the sources. However, the situation had stalled, one added.

Artemis had been expecting any offer for its Puma stake to exceed 40 euros a share, a ‌fourth person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. All four sources ‌spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. 

Artemis is run by Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman of Kering, which includes fashion house Gucci among its brands. The Pinault family acquired its Puma stake from Kering when it transformed the conglomerate into a pure luxury player in 2018.

Artemis and Puma declined to comment. Anta did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

Puma shares rose as much as 9 per cent after the Reuters report, ‍hitting their highest level since May 2025 to trade at 24.6 euros, LSEG data showed. 

Puma’s market capitalisation was 3.3 billion euros (US$3.85 billion) at Wednesday’s close, down around 50 per cent from the same date last year as the brand faced a steep decline in sales.

Puma’s new CEO Arthur Hoeld set out his turnaround strategy in October after sneaker ​releases like the Speedcat failed to generate ‌the hype executives hoped for, while sales have fallen as shoppers opted for rivals such as Adidas, On and Hoka.