IPO Could Reportedly Value Wilson Parent at $10 Billion

Amer Sports, the parent company of Wilson Sporting Goods and Louisville Slugger among other sports equipment brands, has reportedly filed for a U.S. initial public offering.

The targeted IPO could value Amer Sports as high as $10 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company plans to go public by early 2024 and is working with Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley to facilitate its IPO transaction.

Wilson has deals to supply the official game balls for the NFL, NBA, NCAA basketball, and U.S. Open tennis.

Chinese sporting goods conglomerate Anta led a group in 2019 that purchased Finland-headquartered Amer Sports for about $5.2 billion. The ownership group also included Chinese entertainment giant Tencent Holdings and billionaire Chip Wilson, the founder of yoga-apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica.

Bloomberg previously reported in December 2022 that Anta was mulling an IPO for Amer Sports, whose other brands include ski and winter sports equipment companies Salomon, Atomic, and Armada, as well as Canadian outdoor apparel firm Arc’teryx.

Annual revenue for Amer Sports increased 22% in 2022 to $3.3 billion. Parent company Anta, which sold Amer’s fitness equipment company Precor to Peloton for $420 million in 2020, has been known as the “Nike of China.” The retailer has reported $4 billion in interim 2023 revenue (29.6 billion Yuan) and previously recorded $7.7 billion in fiscal 2021 revenue. 

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving signed a shoe deal with Anta in July, joining Klay Thompson, Max Strus, Alex Caruso, Gordon Hayward, Terance Mann, and Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett.