Reebok 2015 Annual Report Download - page 54

TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
Our Share
50
1
SHAREHOLDER RETURN PROGRAMME CONTINUED
On October 1, 2014, adidas AG announced a multi-year shareholder return programme of up to € 1.5 billion
in total to be completed by December 31, 2017. The shareholder return programme is being executed
primarily by buying back shares via the stock exchange under the authorisation given by the Annual General
Meeting on May 8, 2014, for the period through to May 7, 2019. The authorisation covers the repurchase of
up to 10% of the company’s share capital on the stock exchange, subject to advantageous market conditions.
On March 5, 2015, adidas AG announced the commencement of the second tranche of the share buyback
programme with an aggregate acquisition cost of up to € 300 million (excluding incidental purchasing
costs). Within the second tranche up to and including June 15, 2015, adidas AG bought back 4,129,627
shares. This corresponds to a notional amount of € 4,129,627 in the nominal capital and consequently
1.97% of the company’s nominal capital. The average purchase price per share for this second tranche was
€ 72.65. The total number of shares bought back by adidas AG within the framework of the shareholder
return programme amounted to 9,018,769 shares as of December 31, 2015. This corresponds to a notional
amount of € 9,018,769 in the nominal capital and consequently 4.31% of the company’s nominal capital.
As of year-end 2015, the adidas AG had successfully completed 40% of its multi-year shareholder return
programme.
STRONG INTERNATIONAL INVESTOR BASE
Based on our share register, we estimate that adidas AG currently has slightly more than 70,000
shareholders. In our latest ownership analysis conducted in February 2016, we identified almost 100% of
our shares outstanding. Institutional investors represent the largest investor group, holding 87% of shares
outstanding. Private investors and undisclosed holdings account for 8 %. Current members of the adidas
Group Executive and Supervisory Boards hold less than 1% in total. Lastly, as a result of shares purchased
so far as part of our share buyback programme, adidas AG currently holds 4% of the company’s shares
as treasury shares.
In terms of geographical distribution, the North American market currently accounts for 33% of institutional
shareholdings, followed by the UK with 26%. Identified German institutional investors hold 9% of shares
outstanding. Switzerland and France account for 6% and 5%, respectively. 21% of institutional shareholders
were identified in other regions of the world.
VOTING RIGHTS NOTIFICATIONS PUBLISHED
All voting rights notifications received in 2015 and thereafter in accordance with §§ 21 et seq. of the
German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG) can be viewed on our corporate website.
Information on reportable shareholdings that currently exceed or fall below a certain threshold can also
be found in the Notes section of this Annual Report.
DIRECTORS’ DEALINGS REPORTED ON CORPORATE WEBSITE
The purchase or sale of adidas AG shares (ISIN DE000A1EWWW0) or related financial instruments, as
defined by § 15a WpHG, conducted by members of our Executive or Supervisory Boards, by key executives
or by any person in close relationship with these persons, is reported on our website. In 2015, adidas AG
received no notifications pursuant to § 15a WpHG.
ADIDASAG SHARE RECEIVES STRONGANALYSTSUPPORT
The adidas Group and the adidas AG share continued to receive strong analyst support in 2015. Around
35 analysts from investment banks and brokerage firms regularly published research reports on our Group.
The vast majority of analysts are confident about the medium- and long-term potential of the Group. This is
reflected in the recommendation split for our share as at December 31, 2015. 38% of analysts recommended
investors to ’buy’ our share (2014: 24%). 48% advised to ‘hold’ our share (2014: 57%) and 14% of the analysts
recommended to ‘sell’ our share (2014: 19%).
see Diagram 05
see Diagram 06
www.adidas-group.com/
voting_rights_notifications
see Note 26, p. 220