In an interview with German daily newspaper, Die Welt, adidas chief executive, Herbert Hainer, commented that the rumors of a takeover by Nike are completely unfounded.
“I ask myself sometimes if someone is being paid for spreading such nonsense. The acquisition of adidas by Nike is completely impossible. No anti-trust agency would go along with it. The two businesses in Germany make up a market share of 60%, over 50% in the USA. Such a thing would never be approved,” said Hainer.
Interestingly, Hainer further went on to say that he has “no fear” of a takeover by a private equity firm like neighbor Puma, stating that even with a majority shareholder, a company has no guarantee of a bright future.
Hainer also said that the ongoing legal battle over who gets to outfit the German national soccer team between adidas and Nike should see a decision made sometime this summer. He said that adidas should be alright regardless of the outcome in terms of sales as the Mexican team, which adidas took over from Nike in October 2006, accounts for “almost exactly as many kits as we sell to Germany.”
2008 “will be a record year,” according to Hainer as soccer revenue alone should exceed the 1.2 billion in revenues seen during the 2006 Euro World Cup year. Finally, Hainer said that adidas anticipates growing the bottom line in the double-digits in 2008.
