How Shaquille O’Neal Became The Second Largest Investor In The Company that Owns Reebok, JCPenney, and Forever 21

Shaquille O’Neal may be most commonly known for his celebrated career as an NBA Star. But the former athlete is also an avid businessman, working behind the scenes on some of the biggest retail deals of 2021. O’Neal is the second largest individual shareholder of Authentic Brands Group, the company behind dozens of brand and retailer acquisitions, including Forever 21, Barneys New York, JCPenney and most recently, Reebok. The retail powerhouse, led by CEO Jamie Salter and president and CMO Nick Woodhouse, recently secured a pair of major new investors thanks to its talent in reviving struggling yet iconic brands. ABG was awarded Company of the Year in Footwear News’ Annual Achievement Awards in New York on Tuesday. O’Neal has owned shares in ABG company since 2015, when the company bought the rights to his name brand. It was then that the former athlete made a decision that would turn him into the second largest individual shareholder at ABG. As Salter previously explained in an interview with FN in ABG’s New York Offices, moments before O’Neal closed the deal to sign away half of his brand proceeds to ABG, he turned to Salter with an idea. “[O’Neal] says, ‘You know all that money you’re going

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