One of Under Armour’s largest shareholders boosted its position in the company as Fairfax Financial Holdings increased its stake by buying an additional 13.1 million shares — raising its stake to around 42 million shares.
In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed on Monday, the Toronto-based Fairfax revealed that it paid $67 million for 11.5 million Class A voting shares and 1.7 million Class C non-voting shares. It now has about 36 million more shares than it previously acquired.
Before the recent move, Fairfax has a 16 percent stake and has pushed to just over 22 percent with the news sending Under Armour’s shares up by as much as 7.2 percent in late trading on Monday as the markets came to close.
Fairfax and its founder and CEO Prem Watsa initiated the purchase of the new shares on December 30, based on the filing, and could exercise a significant influence on the company moving forward. But even with more shares, Fairfax faces a major climb in try to eventually initiate changes at Under Armour. The sportswear maker’s CEO Kevin Plank owns all of Under Armour’s 34.5 million Class B shares. His shares have more voting rights than any Class B shares, including what Fairfax now owns.
Still, Fairfax has now positioned itself to be second largest shareholder behind Plank at a time when Under Armour is deep into a restructuring effort.
In November, the company announced that part of its turn around plan would be to focus on core products but split from Curry Brand, which was seen as unexpected at the time. But separating from Curry after more than a decade was explained as a necessary measure to boost financial and operational efficiency by the end of fiscal year 2026.
For the current fiscal year, Under Armour said it would absorb $160 million in pre-tax restructuring costs with an additional $95 million will be added on for a total of $255 million.
When the company released its second quarter earnings report for the period that ended on September 30, Under Armour said that revenue fell 5 percent to $1.3 billion while North American revenue was down 8 percent at $792 million. Sales abroad were up slightly at 2 percent to $551 million at the time.
“With our strategy, operating model, and go-to-market approach firmly in place, we’re staying disciplined and focused,” Plank said in September. “The response from consumers and partners reflects this execution, driven by stronger product, sharper storytelling, and a renewed belief in the Under Armour brand.”
Changes are already in motion as Under Armour now refocuses on its footwear and apparel lines. In December, the company had already started to disband the team that previously worked on the Curry Brand despite still planning on selling Curry products until October 2026. Curry’s final signature shoe, the Curry 13, will be released in February.
