Nike is Buying Umbro!

[johnnybluenose]

BBC NEWS | Business | Nike to buy Umbro in £285m deal

Sounds like Adidas and Nike own everything now eh?

[kjohnsob]

Shocking...I assumed Umbro would be stubborn about a take over by the likes of Nike.

In its offer document, Nike said Umbro was "a world-class, authentic football brand, with well established positions in key growth markets and a deep football heritage".

"As such, Umbro is highly complementary to Nike's existing football business and it is intended that it will operate as an independent, UK headquartered Nike affiliate," the US firm said.

That's good to hear, but it's probably jsut corporate speak.

[johnnybluenose]

I wouldn't bet on it.

When Nike bought out Bauer/Cooper Hockey they just rebranded the Cooper Equipment Nike and left the Bauer Line alone.

They turned CanSport into Nike/Bauer

I would suggest that they perhaps make Umbro into the value brand???

[Regs]

I wonder if this will affect Dolie? Will he need to move to Beaverton, maybe into Munson's house until Scott gets back from Brazil?

[Reeder]

As long as Nike doesn't mess with the Speciali it's all good.

[Dude]

Reeks of killing two birds with one stone: eliminate competition, buy the goodwill.

I love it! Long live capitalism!

[Dude]

Originally Posted by Regs

I wonder if this will affect Dolie? Will he need to move to Beaverton, maybe into Munson's house until Scott gets back from Brazil?

I've lived through three of these mergers / take-overs w/ my largest principal supplier. Similar motivations, similar cicumstances.

Dolie is in trouble so far as job security, but if he's an employee, he may have a nice golden handshake coming.

[Kevin Hector]

I fcuking hate it. I loved the Fact Umbro was only soccer. And it wasn't Nike.

[Dude]

Can't wait to see the first pair of Umbro Basketball shoes.

[The Franchise]

Stocks jump from 2.45 to 3.90 today for Umbro. Buyouts are set for 4.00

Over the last year Nike has gone from 24.2 a share to 61.3 currently. Huge money in investing in Nike.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Kevin Hector

I fcuking hate it. I loved the Fact Umbro was only soccer. And it wasn't Nike.

Yeah you can pretty much throw away your England Umbro suit as their kits will change ASAP.

[bulljive]

Originally Posted by Kevin Hector

I fcuking hate it. I loved the Fact Umbro was only soccer. And it wasn't Nike.

Honesty when children in sweat shops are making better boots then umbro its time to say goodbye. Umbro is so 1995, Michael Owen is still the star attraction. I rather buy merchandise with a picture of Dude's hair on the box

[Regs]

There is a joke in there concerning Mrs. Dude not being for sale but I don't want to say it.

[knvb]

Interesting tid bits I heard today- Nike (soccer) has gone from 10 million to 1.4 billion dollars in revenue in only 10 years.

October 24, 2007

Attention USL Franchise Owner / Executive:

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning we were informed, and it was publicly announced, that the Board of Directors of Umbro PLC recommended an offer for its company from Nike. I suspect most of you have seen this in the media over the past 24 hours. Although this continues to be a dynamic situation and it is premature for specifics in terms of what way(s) this may impact USL, we expect any changes which occur in the months ahead will only be positive as it relates to our ability to continue to grow our the overall USL business and strengthen its influence in the North American soccer market.

Being that the above marks a significant announcement for Umbro, and therefore USL (as Umbro is the majority owner of United Soccer Leagues with 98% equity stake in USISL, Inc.), we wanted to take the opportunity to share with you the communicated rationale and background for Umbro’s decision to support Nike’s offer. In addition, we believe it will also be beneficial to explain the likely progression for both Umbro and USL over the coming months.

Umbro is the authentic football brand and has already embarked upon a clear and exciting strategy to accelerate the growth of its business globally. They have been making progress in executing this strategy which is evidenced by their strong sponsorship platform, innovative product development, new brand campaign for 2008, the establishment of their own sourcing operation and recent investments in joint ventures such as China and France.

Nike is the world’s largest and best known sports brand. It has a stated objective of being the world’s No. 1 football business and an acquisition of Umbro would go a long way to help Nike reach this objective. In Umbro, Nike see an excellent brand in which to invest and accelerate growth globally.

Under the agreement, Umbro would become a subsidiary of Nike under its affiliates program alongside businesses such as Converse, Cole Haan, and Hurley. These brands are run separately to Nike with their own headquarters, management teams, and strategy. Those of you who follow the business of sport will already be aware of the growth experienced with the Converse brand during its first three years as a Nike affiliate. Again, Umbro will continue to operate under its brand and its club partners will continue to wear the famed double diamond logo.

The Umbro PLC Board believes that the combination of the strong brand and strategy of Umbro, along with the resources and expertise of Nike will greatly accelerate the growth of Umbro to levels previously unattainable. It is their belief that this deal not only represents a great deal for its shareholders, but will ultimately mean the same for all their partners, including USL. Certainly, it is the belief of USL Management that our business and our partners can benefit in many of the same ways as Umbro as part of this arrangement. In fact, we may find in the months ahead that it serves to accelerate our ability to execute some of our own strategic initiatives (see below).

The acquisition process of Umbro is likely to take several months with a number of regulatory processes to go through. In the meantime, Umbro will continue to execute its strategy and grow the business in accordance with the plans that are already in place.

From a USL standpoint, we have spent considerable time and effort in 2007 developing strategic planning initiatives for our business borne out of your participation in the process and also taking into account marketplace dynamics. None of what is occurring on the Umbro ownership front adversely affects what we have been working towards or what we intend to present to you at the upcoming AGM. In fact, Francisco and I are currently in Manchester (UK) on a pre- planned trip to meet with Umbro executives about the aforementioned strategic initiatives for USL as well as to formally present to several of top British clubs about USL and opportunities which exist for these clubs (via commercial and player development) in the United States and Canada through USL.

To summarize, all of the stakeholders in Umbro are excited about this recent and significant development. We will communicate with you as to what ways this may impact USL and your franchise activities as further information is available to share. In the meantime, the USL Staff remains focused daily on continuing to deliver for our members and partners. We will not allow ourselves to get caught up in the speculation which inevitably and understandably occurs in conjunction with such major developments. Rather, we are hard at work on making your 2007 SoccerFest/AGM experience the best yet and eagerly look forward to hosting you in Tampa next month to continue plotting our course for the future.

[Sir M]

Knvb, I notice that your photo of the above barefooted former Nations Cup MVP (I think. It is hard to remember that far back), but for sure '04 National Championship side member lounging on the lawn in a pair of blue Nike shorts.

Certainly this should be considered as a significant factor in Nike's dramatically increased market share.

[Regs]

Funnily enough, you'll notice the tops of his Umbro boots in the photo as well