Adidas sued by investors over partnership with Kanye West

Investors in the U.S. have filed a lawsuit against the sports goods manufacturer, Adidas, following a sharp drop in profits due to its split from the controversial rapper, Kanye West. They claim the company had known about the rapper's "problematic behaviour" for years, but only ended the partnership last October - and did not take sufficient precautions to limit financial losses. Several media outlets had reported on this.

"We outright reject these unfounded claims and will take all necessary measures to defend ourselves vigorously against them," Adidas announced on Tuesday.

The class action lawsuit was filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court in Oregon. The Herzogenaurach-based company as well as its former CEO Kasper Rorsted and CFO Harm Ohlmeyer are named as defendants, while an investment fund from the U.S. state of Virginia is named as the lead plaintiff.

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Adidas terminated its collaboration with Kanye West in October 2022 after the rapper had repeatedly made anti-Semitic comments. The 'Yeezy' products had previously been a lucrative source of income for the company, however due to the loss of the products alone, management expects a loss in turnover of 1.2 billion euros in the current year.

How to proceed with the already manufactured products was still undecided. The options ranged from various sales possibilities, in which case the proceeds could be donated, to the destruction of the goods.