Umbro’s board of Directors unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer of 193.06 pence per share, which values the company at approximately $582 million.
"Umbro is a brand with a powerful heritage and deep experience in the world's most popular sport and the world's biggest football market," said Nike, president and CEO Mark Parker. "With its close links to The Football Association and the England team, Umbro's future is even stronger than its past. This dynamic alignment of Umbro and Nike, with our complementary strengths and numerous ways to segment and grow the market, will lead the game at every level throughout the world.”
Umbro CEO Steve Makin, added, " We will be a stronger and better business as part of Nike and this deal will allow us to accelerate our existing growth strategy by leveraging Nike's global resources and expertise. We look forward to taking Umbro to new levels with Nike's support."
The acquisition will significantly expand Nike's global leadership in football, a key growth category for the company. Since the early 1990s, Nike has grown its football revenues from about $40 million to approximately $1.5 billion.
Umbro's 2006 annual revenues were approximately $276 million.
