The European Commission has given the green light to Fnac Darty’s ongoing acquisition of listed Italian electronics and home appliance distribution group Unieuro, according to a press release from the French group on Thursday.
“We welcome the authorization of the European Commission to formally notify our project to acquire Unieuro,” congratulated the general director of Fnac, Darty Enrique Martínez. “With the lifting of the antitrust condition and the contributions observed to date, this afternoon we take an important step towards the success of our offer,” he added.
Fnac Darty announced in mid-July that it wanted to buy the Italian group with the support of its first shareholder, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Since September 2, a public purchase offer has been underway that values the company at 249 million euros. It will end on Friday.
An acquisition that allows Fnac Darty to establish itself in Italy
The acquisition of Unieuro would allow Fnac Darty, already present in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Tunisia, Qatar, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo, Senegal and Saudi Arabia, to establish itself in Italy.
Unieuro, which is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange and represents 17% of the Italian market, has 5,000 employees in just over 500 stores. A little less than three-quarters of its stores are located in the north and center of the country.
The Fnac Darty group also estimates its share of the capital at “more than 41%” on Thursday after the markets closed, “including more than 25% contributed in a single day” on Thursday. On October 7, Fnac Darty announced the reduction of the minimum threshold of its takeover bid to 66.67%, facilitating the completion of the operation.
Source: BFM TV
