No. 2 and No. 3 gang up on Nike

PORTLAND, Ore. – In the realm of athletic shoes, the home court advantage has been with Nike.

Rival Adidas has been like a lightweight going into the ring against a well-conditioned heavyweight, trying to take on the swoosh from Germany, without budging its bigger competitor in the critical U.S. market.

But Adidas-Salomon AG has just added some marketing muscle with the acquisition of Reebok International Ltd., boosting the combined U.S. share of No. 2 Adidas and No. 3 Reebok to 21 percent – enough to be a real contender, analysts say.

Shareholders of Canton, Mass.-based Reebok approved the $3.8 billion takeover by a 98 percent margin Wednesday, a day after Adidas won European Union regulatory approval. No antitrust objections were raised by U.S. regulators.

Reebok said Wednesday the companies now expect to close the deal by Jan. 31.