A consortium led by Chinese companies, including internet giant Tencent, has bought Finnish firm Amer Sports for 4.6 billion euros ($5.15 billion), acquiring leading ski brands Salomon and Atomic as Beijing looks forward to hosting the Winter Olympics in 2022. Amer Sports said in a statement that the offer, announced in September and launched in December, had been successful with some 94 percent of its shares sold to the group.
Besides China's Anta Sports, the consortium - set up to conduct the bid - includes Tencent, Asian investment fund FountainVest Partners and Anamered Investments which is run by Canadian businessman Chip Wilson. Anta Sports, estimated to be worth $12.5 billion, has been stepping up efforts to acquire foreign brands. Amer Sports, ranked among the world's largest sports firms, was founded in 1950 originally a tobacco company, before diversifying in the 2000s.