Adidas near Reebok purchase:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- German athletic-apparel maker Adidas-Salomon AG is near an agreement to buy U.S. rival Reebok International Ltd. in a deal that could value Reebok at more than $3 billion, according to media reports Tuesday.
A merger of Adidas (DE:500340: news, chart, profile) and Reebok (RBK: news, chart, profile) could create $9.6 billion-a-year company that would challenge industry leader Nike Inc., (NKE: news, chart, profile) , according to reports in online editions of The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.
Canton, Mass.-based Reebok has a market capitalization of $2.6 billion.
An Adidas takeover of Reebok would double the combined group's share of the U.S. athletic shoe market to about 20%, the Financial Times said. Nike has an estimated 50%.
Officials from both companies could not be reached for comment on the reports.
Shares of Reebok added $1.19, or 2.78%, to end Tuesday at $43.95.
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