By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Shares in Adidas AG (ETR:ADSGN) surged by more than 22% to the top of the pan-European Stoxx 600 in afternoon trading on Friday after the German sportswear retailer confirmed that it was speaking with a potential successor to current chief executive officer Kasper Rørsted.
In a statement, the Herzogenaurach-based company said it was "in talks" with Bjørn Gulden, outgoing CEO of rival Puma SE (ETR:PUMG), about possibly replacing Rørsted.
The announcement comes after Germany's Manager Magazin first reported that Gulden would leave Puma at the end of 2022 to take over at Adidas.
The world's second largest sports apparel firm has been searching for a new CEO since August when Rørsted unveiled his plan to step down next year.
Meanwhile, Puma said that Gulden has chosen to allow his contract to expire at the end of this year. The group added that chief commercial officer Arne Freundt will take over as its new CEO on January 1.
Shares in Puma fell by about 3%.