Adidas files objection to Rockport’s plans to sell itself to Charlesbank

The Rockport Group may not move ahead with its plans to sell itself to CB Marathon Opco LLC, an affiliate of Charlesbank Capital Partners, just yet. Rockport’s former parent company, the Adidas Group, has filed an official objection to the sale, according to Footwear News.

Founded in 1971, Rockport was bought 15 years later by Reebok, which was bought in 2005 by the Adidas Group. Adidas sold Rockport to New Balance and Berkshire Partners LLC in 2015, for an estimated 280 million US dollars -- a transaction which took two years to be completed. Earlier this year, Rockport filed for bankruptcy (Chapter 11), and Charlesbank was named the stalking horse bidder in the sale process, after offering 150 million US dollars for all of the company’s assets. Last week, Rockport and Charlesbank announced they were seeking approval for the transaction from the US bankruptcy court, after no other companies topped Charlesbank’s bid.

Adidas and Reebok hold the second and third largest unsecured claims in Rockport’s bankruptcy case, at 58 million US dollars and 12.5 million US dollars, respectively. Adidas claims that, if the sale is approved, it may not be able to recover the outstanding money it is owed in the transition process, according to the legal papers cited by Footwear News.

Contacted by FashionUnited, Adidas declined to comment.