Pou Chen aims to privatise retail subsidiary

The Taiwan-headquartered company is said to be the largest branded athletic and casual footwear manufacturer in the world.

Taiwan-cased Pou Chen Group is reported to have made an offer of almost HK$11 million ($1.4 million) to privatise one of its subsidiary companies – Chinese sportswear distributor and retailer Pou Sheng. Sports shoe producer Yue Yuen, in which Pou Chen owns a 49.99 per cent share, is said to be selling its 62.41 per cent stake in Pou Sheng for HK$6.8 billion ($870 million) as part of the deal. If the sale is confirmed, Pou Sheng would become a fully-owned part of Pou Chen and would subsequently be delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

According to Pou Chen, its decision to take Pou Sheng private was due to the ‘unprecedented changes and challenges’ being faced by the sporting goods industry due to the rise of online shopping, which has increased competition and changed consumer expectations. Pou Chen added that Pou Sheng would require what it calls ‘significant investment’ in order to transform the business, and that changing the company into a private entity would create more flexibility.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the March 2018 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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