Belle to spin off Topsports International

Chinese footwear manufacturer and retailer Belle International has filed papers for a public listing of its sportswear business Topsports International.

The spinoff was first proposed more than a year ago by the company’s private equity owners Hillhouse Capital and CDH who took Belle private in a US$6.8 billion deal in July 2017.

The float, scheduled for the second half of this year, would raise an estimated $1 billion.

Topsport International is the largest sportswear retailer in Mainland China, with 8343 stores selling foreign labels including Nike and Adidas. It had a market share estimated at 15.9 percent last year when its revenue rose 22.4 percent to US$3.85 billion and its gross profit by 18 percent.