Logo Athletic officials believe "the key" to their
pending internal acquisition of the sports company is Puma
AG, according to Stephen Beaven of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS
JOURNAL. Logo President & CEO Tom Shine has already begun
"talking acquisition" with other companies in the industry,
and he's lined up a "Who's Who" of NFL stars as investors,
including Logo endorsers Dan Marino, John Elway, Troy
Aikman, Warren Moon, Tim Brown and Bruce Smith. But Shine,
who is also an investor in the new ownership group, "is most
eager to exploit the company's relationship with Puma and
its access" to Rupert Murdoch, who recently bought a 20%
stake of Monarch Regency, the movie company owned by Puma
principal stock holder Arnon Milchan. Shine: "To grow the
business the way we wanted to grow it, we felt we needed a
marketing partner and a partner with a footwear presence."
Shine "believes" that Milchan will provide Logo with access
to Murdoch. Puma is the largest shareholder in the Logo
deal announced June 12. The transaction is estimated at
$96.5M in cash and stock (INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL,
6/22 issue). The SPORTBUSINESS JOURNAL's Andy Bernstein
reports that Logo is "still" working out how it will
integrate Puma. Shine said the companies will operate at
"arm's length" and that the Logo Athletic brand name will
remain. Bernstein adds that the possibility remains that
the Puma name "will appear on-field" in the NFL, where Logo
supplies team apparel (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/22).
