Shares of Puma surged 17 percent on Wednesday, September 17, following a report that Authentic Brands (Authentic) CEO Jamie Salter and Alex Dibelius, the German head of private equity firm CVC, have reportedly both expressed interest in the 29 percent stake held by the Pinault family, with the potential to drive a bidding war.

The media report came from the German business publication, Manager Magazin.

Shares of Puma closed on September 17 at €23.28, up €3.35, or 16.8 percent, on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

A spokesperson who is close to Artemis, the French billionaire Pinault family’s holding company, told Reuters that there is no active sales process for its Puma stake, despite interest from some parties. This person also added that the German media report was “factually false.”

Artemis also controls Kering, the owner of Gucci and other luxury labels.

Reuters reported last week that Artemis had decided not to sell its stake in Puma at the current market value and confirmed it was not engaged in talks over a deal.

A report from Bloomberg in August this year stated that Artemis was exploring the potential sale of its approximately $960 million Puma stake.

The Pinault family acquired its stake in Puma from Kering in 2018, following the luxury goods group’s sale of its shares to focus on its core business.

Salter’s Authentic is known for acquiring and revitalizing distressed brands such as apparel brands Forever 21 and Aeropostale.

Authentic purchased Reebok from Adidas in 2022. Other brands in the company’s portfolio include Champion, Nautica, Eddie Bauer, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand, Nine West, Brooks Brothers, Juicy Couture, Vince Camuto, Dockers, Quiksilver, Billabong, Sperry, Hunter, and Ted Baker.

In November 2021, Authentic sold a “significant” equity stake in the company to CVC Capital and HPS Investment Partners after canceling plans to complete an initial public offering. The deal valued Authentic at $12.7 billion, with BlackRock continuing as its largest shareholder.

In January of this year, reports arrived that BlackRock was negotiating a sale of its stake in Authentic for more than $3 billion.

Image courtesy Puma