Herbert Hainer, CEO of adidas, told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that his company will not enter a bidding war with rival Nike to keep its sponsorship of Germany's national soccer team.
Earlier this month, according to Dr. Theo Zwanziger, president of the German Football Association, Nike, Inc. made a “financially very attractive” business proposal to the organization that expressed the manufacturer's interest in a sponsorship deal with the DFB starting in 2011.
In an interview published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday, adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said, “If we did that (enter a bidding war), everyone would say we were crazy. And we wouldn't do that.”
The newspaper said Nike's offer was almost five times as high as what Adidas currently pays.
