Who is Percy 'Master P' Miller? Rapper set to acquire Reebok with ex-NBA guard Baron Davis
Hip-hop mogul and basketball veteran Master P, whose real name is Percy Robert Miller, is all set to ink a new business deal where he will be the bossman of retail giant Reebok. Adidas, who bought the company in 2005, is looking to offload its household brand and Master P along with former NBA All-Star Baron Davis are going to be the new owners of the same.
What is the deal about?
According to Forbes, the acquisition deal will come around $2.4 billion. Adidas had bought Reebok with an intention to take on its arch-rival Nike but failed to do so and unfortunately, Reebok also struggled to cement its position in the market. According to Forbes, reports of Adidas looking to shed Reebok for $3.8 billion started doing the rounds on the Internet in late October. However, in 2019, Adidas wrote down Reebok’s book value by nearly half compared with 2018, to $995 million.
Speaking on the deal, Davis said, “I think Reebok is being undervalued. I left Nike as a 22-year-old kid representing myself and made the jump to Reebok, which took a chance on me as a creative and as an athlete. I want the people I know athletes, influencers, designers, celebs to sit at the table with me.”
An NBA reporter for ESPN also confirmed the deal with his tweet. He captioned the post as, “Percy "Master P" Miller confirms to ESPN that he's in negotiations to acquire Reebok with ex-NBA guard Baron Davis. “These companies have been benefiting off us, this could be history for this company going Black-owned,” Miller tells ESPN.”
Percy "Master P" Miller confirms to ESPN that he's in negotiations to acquire Reebok with ex-NBA guard Baron Davis.
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) December 28, 2020
"These companies have been benefiting off us, this could be history for this company going Black-owned," Miller tells ESPN.
Master P and Baron Davis are both serial entrepreneurs and down the years they have invested in sectors including media, technology, sports, music, fashion and even Miller’s latest endeavour with Uncle P food products. According to Forbes, both have plans to not only turn around the brand image of Reebok but also to give other smaller shoe companies opportunities for distribution. Speaking on the same, Master P asserted, “As we focus on turning Reebok into a lifestyle brand not just a basketball brand, our most important initiative will be to put money back into the community that built this company.”
For the unversed, hip-hop icon Jay-Z had signed with Reebok back in 2003 when he also dropped the S Carter shoes. It ultimately led to a boost in Reebok sales by 17%. Looking to repeat its success story, there are chances that by signing cultural icons like Miller and Davis, Reebok might just have a fighting chance this time around.
Who is Percy 'Master P' Miller?
Master P is a well-known rapper, actor, record producer, entrepreneur, and former basketball player. The 53-years-old music heavyweight is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as New No Limit Records through Universal Records and Koch Records. Its name was then changed to Guttar Music Entertainment, but currently, it is known as No Limit Forever Records.
Known for his albums like ‘Ice Cream Man’ and ‘The Ghettos Tryin to Kill Me!’, he tasted success with his platinum single ‘Make 'Em Say Uhh!.’ Master P has so far released 15 studio albums. He is also the founder and CEO of P Miller Enterprises and Better Black Television, which was a short-lived online television network. Apart from his music career, he also showed his acting skills on the big screen with movies like ‘I Got the Hook Up’, ‘Soccer Mom’, ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’, ‘Toxic’, and ‘Foolish’. Master P has also worked in television, starring in the sitcom ‘Romeo!’ alongside his son Romeo Miller from 2003 to 2006. Interestingly, he had also signed two separate NBA contracts in the late 1990s, playing for both the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors during the 1998 and 1999 pre-season respectively. And guess what, Miller also owns a basketball league known as Global Mixed Gender Basketball (GMGB). With such an elaborate CV, his net worth currently stands close to $200million, as published by Celebrity Net Worth.