Dive Brief:
- Skechers has agreed to be acquired by 3G Capital and will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange upon completion of the deal, according to a press release Monday.
- 3G Capital will acquire the footwear brand for $63 per share in cash, per the release. The purchase price implies an enterprise value of about $9.4 billion, according to Evercore analysis, which also called the transaction one of the largest privatization deals in the softlines industry in years.
- Skechers will continue to be led by Chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg, President Michael Greenberg and COO David Weinberg, per the release. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
Dive Insight:
The deal comes after Skechers withdrew its 2025 financial outlook when it reported earnings last month. At the time, the footwear company said it pulled guidance “due to macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from global trade policies.”
However, 3G acquiring Skechers represents a bet that the footwear sector will operate profitably in the long-term despite the Trump administration’s tariffs, according to Evercore analysts led by Jesalyn Wong. In an emailed note, Wong said that the acquisition nonetheless potentially implied “that the next few quarters will be best operated away from the eye of the public markets.”
Wong added that with this deal, 3G is “putting real money to work” and taking a gamble on Skechers being a durable franchise that will operate profitably at the end of this tariff period.
“In other words, it’s not like 3G has some unique view about how to lift all the inputs to footwear manufacturing out of China that the other brands haven’t thought of yet,” Wong said.
Skechers has consistently set records for quarterly sales. In Q1, Skechers reported $2.41 billion in sales, which represented a 7% year-over-year increase.
In Monday’s release, Skechers said 3G Capital shared its vision of the “long-term future growth of the business.”
3G is the largest shareholder of Restaurant Brands International, whose holdings include Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes.
“Given [3G’s] remarkable history of facilitating the success of some of the most iconic global consumer businesses, we believe this partnership will support our talented team as they execute their expertise to meet the needs of our consumers and customers while enabling the Company’s long-term growth,” Robert Greenberg said in the release.