Adidas Sells Reebok To Authentic Brands Group For $2.5B

Adidas ADR ADDYY has sold its Reebok brand to Authentic Brands Group, a New York City-based brand management company, for approximately $2.5 billion.

What Happened: Authentic Brands Group’s portfolio consists of high-profile companies that fell on difficult times. Its corporate brands include Aeropostale, Barney’s New York, Brooks Brothers, Forever 21, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Izod, Nautica and Van Heusen.

“It’s an honor to be entrusted with carrying Reebok’s legacy forward,” said Jamie Salter, Authentic Brands Group’s founder, chairman and CEO, who added his company was “committed to preserving Reebok’s integrity, innovation, and values — including its presence in bricks and mortar.”

The company also owns the likeness rights to several legendary entertainment and sports figures including Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, Greg Norman and Shaquille O’Neal.

Related Link: Target Aims At Fashionistas With Fall Designer Collection

Why It Happened: The German-headquartered Adidas acquired the Boston-based Reebok in 2006 for $3.8 billion, but the brand struggled financially for years. In February, the company announced it was planning to put the brand up for sale, adding it would report Reebok as a "discontinued operation" beginning in the first quarter of 2021.

“Reebok has been a valued part of Adidas, and we are grateful for the contributions the brand and the team behind it have made to our company,” said Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted.