Henkel CEO Kasper Rorsted unexpectedly leaves his post early on April 30

Henkel, the German maker of home cleaning products, said Monday that its CEO Kasper Rorsted was stepping down early as sportswear giant Adidas had announced his appointment as their own new CEO, AFP has reported.

Henkel said in a statement that its Supervisory Board had "agreed unanimously and by mutual agreement to Kasper Rorsted's request to prematurely terminate his position" as CEO as of April 30. The 53-year-old Dane would be replaced by board member Hans Van Bylen, the statement said.

Rorsted has been at the helm of the consumer chemicals giant since 2008, and his contract was originally scheduled to run until 2017. His unexpected early departure caused speculations about his next post, and the media indicated that he might join Adidas whose current CEO Herbert Heiner has a mandate until March 2017.

Adidas was not available for comment, but the shares of that sportswear manufacturer today gained 10.31% in value on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, reaching EUR 92.67, while Henkel's shares dropped 4.5%, AFP reports.