Gymnast Simone Biles is leaving Nike Inc. and will strike a new apparel partnership with Athleta, a smaller woen’s activewear brands that was founded in 1998 and is owned by Gap Inc. , the Wall Street Journal reported. The news will be announced later Friday and comes as Biles believes Athleta will more closely reflect her values, supporting women and girls of all races and sizes, the paper reported. A Nike spokeswoman said that “Simone Biles is an incredible athlete and we wish her the very best,” and that “we will continue to champion, celebrate and evolve to support our female athletes.” Biles will have her own Athleta performance wear line, including products for wearing to and from the gym. Gap shares were down 1.9% premarket, while Nike was up 0.5%.
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