Ueberroth Will Join Board of Adidas

Peter V. Ueberroth, who only three weeks ago agreed to buy ailing Hawaiian Airlines with Newport Beach developer J. Thomas Talbot, has acquired options to buy stakes in Adidas, the West German athletic shoe and clothing company, and in its U.S. operations.

Ueberroth, 52, will join the boards of both companies, becoming the first American director of the West German parent firm, Adidas AG, the company said Tuesday.

The amount of money Ueberroth is spending on stock options and the size of the stake it would give him if exercised were not revealed in Adidas’ brief announcement, and a company spokesman said no additional information was available. Ueberroth could not be reached for comment.

The Adidas statement said Ueberroth has purchased options for a “substantial stake” in the Adidas U.S. arm and a “minority share” in Adidas AG, “which will be exercised by virtue of a share capital increase.”

“Adidas is focusing on the expanding opportunity in the sporting goods business in the United States, as the foremost market for sporting goods in the world, by reinforcing its management as well as its financial resources,” the statement said, adding that the company is confident that it will obtain “an important and valuable contribution” from Ueberroth and his associates.

Ueberroth was a travel industry executive when he was tapped to become president and chief executive of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. He was commissioner of major league baseball for five years, stepping down last April.