FINLAND’S Amer Sports, which owns the Wilson tennis rackets used by Serena Williams as well as the Atomic and Salomon ski equipment brands, has received a 4.6-billion-euro (US$5.3 billion) takeover approach from China’s Anta Sports Products Ltd. and private equity firm FountainVest.

Amer shareholders will get 40 euros per share in cash if the deal goes ahead, the Helsinki-based maker of Salomon hiking boots and Arc’teryx outdoor clothing said yesterday.

The offer represents a nearly 40 percent premium to Monday’s closing price before the approach was made public.

Amer’s second-largest shareholder, a Finnish association with a 4.29 percent stake, said it was open to the proposal but needed more time to evaluate it.

“Of course, if the price is right, everything is for sale,” said the association’s head Timo Maasilta.

Amer’s largest shareholder, Finnish pension fund KEVA, declined to comment on the approach by Anta, which sells the Fila and Descente brands as well as its own homegrown Anta label in China.

Anta, which wants to expand overseas by acquiring other well-established global brands, has long targeted Amer.

Anta confirmed yesterday it and private equity firm FountainVest Partners had submitted a preliminary indication of interest to buy the entire share capital of Amer Sports at 40 euros per share in cash, but no definitive agreement had been reached.

Anta, China’s biggest sportswear retailer by market value, reported in August a record half-year profit as its online and offline businesses benefited from strong growth in the country’s sports sector. (SD-Agencies)