French luxury goods group PPR has agreed to buy a 27% stake in German sportswear specialist Puma and launch a full takeover offer for the group.
The bid from PPR, which owns a range of top-end fashion brands including Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, values the German company at about €5.7 billion.
Puma is the world's number three sportswear maker after Nike and Adidas. It has annual sales of €2.4 billion and employs 7,800 worldwide.
PPR has annual sales of €17.9 billion and a workforce of 78,000.
