(Yicai) Jan. 27 -- Anta Sports Products said the Chinese sportswear maker will spend EUR1.5 billion (USD1.8 billion) to become the biggest shareholder of German peer Puma, but clarified it will not initiate a takeover bid.

Anta will acquire a 29 percent stake in Puma from Groupe Artémis, the French investment company of the Pinault family, the Fujian province-based company said in a stock exchange filing today. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Anta will exclusively use its internal cash reserves to gather funds for the deal, it noted, adding that the transaction is still subject to approval from relevant authorities and must meet customary closing conditions.

Established in 1948, Puma is one of several iconic German sports brands, such as Adidas and Jako. It has sponsored soccer legends Pelé and Diego Maradona as well as current stars like Neymar and Antoine Griezmann, while also making the kits for Premier League giants Manchester City.

Puma has a strong market presence in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, but has faced significant operational pressures in recent years. Its net loss expanded in each of the first three quarters of last year, with a cumulative loss of EUR309 million (USD367 million) in the period.

In addition, shares of Puma [ETR: PUM] nearly halved last year. The stock surged 17 percent to close at EUR21.61 (USD25.66) in Frankfurt yesterday.

Since leading a consortium to acquire Finland's Amer Sports in 2019, Anta has successfully revitalized international brands such as Canada's Arc'teryx and France's Salomon. Italian sportswear brand Fila also became profitable after being bought by Anta.

Anta has been accelerating its globalization efforts since last year, including fully acquiring Germany's century-old outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin for USD290 million and investing KRW50 billion (USD34.5 million) in South Korea's fashion e-commerce platform Musinsa.

The retail sales of all brands under Anta, excluding the Anta brand, increased by between 45 percent and 50 percent last year from the previous year, providing financial support for its acquisitions.

Anta's stock [HKG: 2020] rose 1.6 percent to HKD77.60 (USD9.95) as of 3.25 p.m. in Hong Kong today, after earlier jumping by as much as 3.1 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev