Chinese company Anta is top shareholder of parent of Wilson, Louisville Slugger
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesChinese sportswear company Anta Sports is the largest shareholder in Amer Sports, the corporate parent of Wilson Sporting Goods and Louisville Slugger, an arrangement that drew renewed scrutiny Thursday after OutKick argued that Anta has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
The ownership is not new. Anta led a consortium that agreed in 2018 to acquire Amer, completing the deal on April 1, 2019. Wilson had bought Louisville Slugger from the Hillerich & Bradsby family business in 2015. Amer went public in New York in February 2024.
Anta’s stake is large but not a majority. In the annual report Amer filed in February 2026, Anta held 41.7% as of Feb. 20, 2026. Chip Wilson, the Lululemon founder, held 17.9% through an investment vehicle, followed by FountainVest Partners at 6.1% and Tencent Holdings at 5.7%. Anta’s figure rests on a regulatory filing it made in December 2024. The filing says no major shareholder has different voting rights from any other. Amer says its brands operate with considerable autonomy, and Wilson runs an Ohio manufacturing facility whose workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
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OutKick pointed to Anta’s conduct during the 2019 dispute over the NBA and Hong Kong. After then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted support for protesters, Anta said it would halt contract renewal negotiations with the league, saying it opposed any action that harms China’s interests. The company’s statement did not cite any government direction.
Louisville Slugger’s official relationship with Major League Baseball has also changed. It was the league’s official bat when the Anta-led deal was announced. Marucci and Victus now hold the exclusive license to be MLB’s official bats under an agreement running from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028. Louisville Slugger bats remain in major league use. The Christian Science Monitor reported in September 2025 that contracted players such as Schwarber use them and that the Louisville factory still makes them.
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