Skechers to be acquired for US$9b and taken private

The shoe company Skechers is being acquired for more than $9 billion and will be taken private by the investment firm 3G Capital.

The deal comes amid growing uncertainty over how US tariffs on foreign goods will affect companies who make their products overseas, particularly in China. Athletic shoe makers have invested heavily in production in Asia.

The offer of US$63 per share represents a premium of 30 per cent to Skechers’ 15-day volume-weighted average stock price, and it was unanimously approved the deal.

Skechers says that about two-thirds of its revenue comes from sales outside of the United States. China accounts for 15 per cent of the company’s revenue, according to the data firm FactSet.

Skechers did not issue guidance when it released its first quarter earnings in April. The “current environment is simply too dynamic from which to plan results with a reasonable assurance of success” Chief Financial Officer John Vandemore told investors.

Executives also said they would be looking to minimise products going to the US from “high-cost locations,” including the impact of tariffs. The company did not immediately provide a breakdown of foreign production, but many of their shoes come with a ‘Made in China’ stamp.

Skechers executives said last month that the company had several “levers” it could pull to deal with tariffs, including cost sharing with vendors, sourcing optimisation, and price adjustments.

“We’re looking at how we optimise the global cost of tariffs in all markets when we look to move production around,” Vandemore said last month. “Obviously, with an effective tariff rate at about 159 per cent, products from China to the US are prohibitively expensive.”

Skechers has about 5,300 retail stores worldwide, about 1,800 of which are company-owned. Skechers reported a record $9 billion in revenue in 2024 with net earnings of $640 million.

About 97 per cent of the clothes and shoes purchased in the US are imported, predominantly from Asia, according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Using factories overseas has kept labour costs down for US companies, but neither they nor their overseas suppliers are likely to absorb price increases due to new tariffs.

When the deal closes, the company will be led by Skechers Chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg and his management team. Its headquarters will remain in Manhattan Beach, California, where it was founded more than three decades ago.

The deal with 3G Capital is expected to close in the third quarter this year.

AP