Japanese AEON Co. Ltd., one of Asia’s leading retailers, will invest in Signa Sports United, one of Europe's leading e-commerce platforms for outdoor and sporting equipment.
AEON’s retail network comprises around 300 subsidiaries, from convenience stores and supermarkets to shopping malls and specialist retailers. AEON is Japan's single-largest shopping mall developer and operator and is using the investment to expand its activities in the online retailing of sports gear and equipment – a promising growth market in Asia. AEON’s investment coincides with a long-term strategic partnership aimed at strengthening both companies’ positions in the Asian online and multichannel market.
Signa Sports United is a leading sports e-commerce platform, operating around 80 webshops in 17 countries across the fast-growing categories of bike, tennis, outdoor, team sports & athleisure. Serving a customer base of approximately 2.5 million active customers, with more than 170 million website visits a year (as at June 2018), it is the go-to sports online shopping platform for Continental Europe’s sports enthusiasts. The areas in which Signa Sports United is active, including bikes and outdoor, are among the fast-growing e-commerce sports categories in Europe. The same applies to Asia, where these categories also display above-average growth, covering approx. 50 percent of the relevant Asian sports market and making it an attractive growth market in the long term.
The following team of Gleiss Lutz lawyers, led by Michael Burian and Dr. Stephan Aubel (partners, corporate/M&A, both Frankfurt), advised Aeon in connection with the transaction: Dr. Christopher Vogl (corporate/M&A, Stuttgart), Jan-Rasmus Roßkamp (corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Kenta Nishioka (foreign counsel, corporate/M&A, Stuttgart), Dr. Iris Benedikt-Buckenleib (counsel, competition/antitrust, Munich).
Gleiss Lutz has a leading Japan practice that frequently advises Japanese companies on transactions in Germany. Amongst others, Gleiss Lutz recently advised Hitachi Construction Machinery on a joint venture with its German distributor for the European market, as well as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems on a joint venture with the Heifo Group.
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