Investors in Skechers are suing Skechers executives and Skechers owner 3G Capital, alleging the sale price was unfair in an acquisition earlier this year.
3G Capital took the Manhattan Beach-based company private in a $9.4 billion deal that was completed in September and priced the company at $63 per share.
In a class action lawsuit filed this month in Delaware Chancery Court, hedge funds and other large Skechers investors accuse the company and 3G Capital of arranging non-arm’s length transactions to short-sell minority shareholders.
The suit says the acquisition came at a time when the company’s stock was depressed due to unstable federal tariff policy. The deal also benefited Skechers President Michael Greenberg and other controlling shareholders, the plaintiffs said.
The plaintiffs, who had been seeking a higher share price, were unable to reach an early settlement with Skechers this week after Skechers made an offer slightly higher than the original price.
According to court documents, 3G Capital offered a price of $73 per share in March, but lowered its offer after President Trump’s April 2 “Emancipation Day.”
According to Bloomberg, the investors are currently pursuing a lawsuit.
Skechers said it does not comment on pending legal matters.
Skechers is one of many companies that sounded the alarm when President Trump passed high import taxes on countries like China and Vietnam, where many Skechers products are manufactured.
The company’s stock price fell 23% in early April after the tariffs were announced. After the announcement of the acquisition of 3G Capital, the stock price rebounded 30%.
At the time of the acquisition, 3G Capital and Skechers said the purchase price was a 30% premium over the company’s 15-day volume-weighted average share price.
After the deal closed, about 60 investment pools managed by various companies challenged the price of $1.3 billion worth of stock.
Plaintiffs in the case allege that he and his son, President Michael, worked closely with 3G Capital to orchestrate a favorable acquisition deal for their company during the tariff turmoil.
“This merger was carefully structured to allow Greenberg stockholders to monetize a significant amount of their personal holdings in Skechers,” the court complaint states.
