After recent reporting from Bloomberg that Puma’s largest shareholder could sell its stake in Puma SE sent shares jumping and markets buzzing, a new report published by Reuters on September 11 now indicates that Artemis, the Pinault family’s holding that controls Gucci-owner Kering, will not sell its 29 percent stake in the Herzogenaurach, Germany-based athletic footwear and apparel brand.

Shares of Puma jumped 14.7 percent on Monday, August 25, following the initial news, but are down ~12.6 percent since the close of the German Xetra exchange that day.

The August 25 report suggested that the Pinault family could sell its stake in the company, possibly through an outright sale.

A source, who declined to be named as the information was private, was referenced by Reuters in its more recent report stating that the company had full trust in newly appointed Puma CEO Arthur Hoeld to turn the company around, adding it was not facing any debt maturities this year or next that would require it to sell assets.

The comments, the first from a source with detailed knowledge of the private firm’s operations, stated that Artemis had been approached by numerous potential suitors for its approximately $960 million Puma stake, including private equity firms and sector peers, but clarified that the investment firm was not negotiating any deals.

The source close to Artemis declined to name specific investors but said there was strong appetite from sector peers and financial investors “seeking to position themselves.”

“Would we sell at this level? Never in our lives… We consider that Puma is worth much more than that,” the person said, according to Reuters, echoing public comments from Artemis chairman Francois-Henri Pinault this week that Puma was not “strategic.”

The source reportedly told Reuters that Puma would not remain in Artemis’ portfolio “forever” but added that now was not the right time to sell.

Still, Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman of Artemis, was quoted at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on Tuesday, September 9, as saying, “We retain all options regarding this asset.”

The Pinault family acquired its Puma stake in 2018 from Kering, when the luxury group spun off the holding and transformed into a pure luxury player, focusing on its Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Alexander McQueen brands, among other luxury holdings.

Since 2018, Kering has gradually reduced its stake in Puma, having spun off 70 percent of the company to its shareholders as part of a plan to refocus on its luxury division.

In 2020, Artemis issued an exchangeable bond worth €500 million, which was exchangeable for shares of the sportswear company Puma. However, with the bond issue maturing earlier this year, Artemis was forced to repay bondholders in cash rather than shares due to Puma’s weak share price performance.

Artemis has become the subject of investor scrutiny due to the high debt accumulated across its portfolio as it sought to diversify amid a decline in global luxury sales.

Last month, privately-owned Artemis told Reuters that a jump in standalone debt at Artemis was a “temporary spike” and indicated it is not experiencing any liquidity problems due to a reduction in dividends from Kering and other assets. Artemis also owns 54 percent of the Hollywood talent agency CAA.

In April, Puma tapped 26-year Adidas veteran Arthur Hoeld as CEO. Arne Freundt stepped down as CEO after just two and a half years due to “differing views on strategy execution.”

On July 24, Puma SE downwardly revised its financial outlook for the full year 2025 due to a softer-than-anticipated top-line trend for the second quarter and implications from U.S. tariffs. The guidance update was provided as Puma reported a 2 percent decline in sales in the second quarter on a currency-neutral basis.

The updated guidance calls for:

  • Currency-adjusted sales are now forecast to decline in the low-double-digit percentage. The company had previously guided for a low- to mid-single-digit percentage currency-adjusted increase.
  • The company now expects an EBIT loss in the full year 2025. Puma had previously guided for EBIT of €445 million to €525 million for the year. The shift reportedly reflects softer top-line development, increased currency headwinds, the impact of the U.S. tariffs and additional measures, including one-off charges, to further align the cost base in the second half of the year.

Image courtesy Puma