This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Chip Wilson simply hit the promote button on $159.7 million value of Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) inventory. The Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) founder offloaded simply over 4 million sharesaround 0.7% of the companyon August 25, based on regulatory filings. This comes sizzling on the heels of one more cash-raising transfer the place Wilson pledged Lululemon shares to banks for liquidity. The newest sale provides to a rising sample: Wilson unlocking capital, whereas providing zero clues about the place it is headed subsequent.
Wilson initially backed Amer again in 2019, teaming up with Anta SportsChina’s largest athletic-apparel brandin a guess on China’s rising center class. The technique? Sell premium gear like baseball bats and tennis rackets to an more and more upscale client base. It’s been a worthwhile gamble. Since Amer’s NYSE debut in early 2024, the inventory has greater than tripled. Wilson’s 18% holding now represents roughly half of his $8 billion fortune, per Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
What’s subsequent? Hard to say. Bloomberg had reported that Anamered Investments, Wilson’s funding car, was exploring a $163 million block saleso this transfer does not come out of nowhere. But with over $500 million in bank-backed firepower and no Amer shares pledged as collateral, Wilson nonetheless has loads of dry powder. Whether he is prepping for one more massive swingor merely cashing in whereas the inventory’s hotinvestors can be watching his subsequent transfer intently.