Recently, according to Footwear News, former NBA star O'Neal is a behind-the-scenes investor in many sports retail transactions, including abg's acquisition of Reebok, and in a recent interview, O'Neill shared the behind-the-scenes story of the acquisition of Reebok.
O'Neill has held a stake in ABG since 2015 and is currently the company's second-largest individual shareholder and is involved in multiple sports brand investments. In Reebok's bid for the acquisition, he offered ceo Jamie Salter and president and chief marketing officer Nick Woodhouse a competitive offer to acquire the footwear brand from Adidas.
O'Neill said, "Jamie was the one who cast the spell, and as a partner, I told him, 'I think you should buy Reebok.' Then one day he suddenly came to me, 'I'm going to give you a big surprise, I'm going to send you something, I want you to sign, don't look at the documents, just sign your name.' So I signed the document. He immediately said, 'Congratulations, my friend, we now have Reebok.' It was one of the best days of my life. ”
ABG has acquired dozens of brands and retailers, including Reebok, Sports Illustrated, Forever 21 and more recently attracted new investors.
![Former NBA player O'Neal: Horford's 30 points is the icing on the cake, and the Bucks have to limit him![fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)