Adidas near deal to buy Reebok

Shares of Reebok International Ltd, United States' No 2 athletic shoe and apparel maker, rose sharply in after-hours trading amid media reports that it will be acquired by German sporting goods company Adidas-Salomon AG.

The deal would give Adidas about 20 per cent of the US market, putting it in a far more strategic position to challenge industry leader Nike Inc.

Reebok shares surged 16 per cent to $51 in after-hours trading late Tuesday following several media reports -- which all cited unnamed sources close to the negotiations -- of the deal to buy the Canton, Massachusetts-based company.

The Financial Times reported that Adidas would pay more than $3 billion for Reebok. Citing executives involved in the talks, The New York Times reported the sale price at about $4.4 billion, with Adidas assuming about $550 million in Reebok debt.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times' sources said that under the terms being negotiated, Adidas would pay about $59 a share for Reebok, or a 34 per cent premium over Reebok's closing price of Tuesday.

Reebok chairman and CEO Paul B Fireman and Kenneth Watchmaker, the company's chief financial officer, did not return calls at their homes from The Associated Press. A Reebok spokeswoman also did not return a call seeking comment.