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Bloomberg
Skechers USA Inc is considering strategic options for its Asia business, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Manhattan Beach, California-based shoemaker has held preliminary talks with advisers to evaluate possibilities including a Hong Kong initial public offering of the business, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. An IPO could raise about $1.5 billion, the people said.
Such a plan could involve the firm buying out its joint venture partners, one of the people said. The company formed Skechers China with Luen Thai Enterprises in 2007 according to a press release. Its joint ventures in Asia also include units in South Korea and Southeast Asia, the 2020 annual report shows.
Deliberations are at an early stage, and Skechers could decide not to pursue alternative strategic options, the people said. Skechers is constantly evaluating opportunities to increase shareholder value, including relative to its business in Asia, which the company believes is meaningfully undervalued by the market, Chief Financial Officer John Vandemore said in response to a query from Bloomberg News.
Luen Thai didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The shoemaker’s proposed listing would see it joining other global consumer firms such as Yum! Brands, Inc and McDonald’s Corp in separating Asian units from their other operations. Yum! Brands in 2016 spun off Yum China Holdings Inc to list in the US, and subsequently dual-listed in Hong Kong in 2020.