The French group Fnac Darty, a specialist in the distribution of household and electrical appliances, has bought, with the help of its first shareholder, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, leader of the sector in Italy Unieuro.
This acquisition will create a heavyweight in the home furnishings sector with more than €10 billion in annual sales across 1,500 stores, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals.
On Friday, at the end of the public purchase offer (OPA) launched on September 2, Fnac Darty owns 71.5% of Unieuro’s capital, according to a statement.
Specifically, 67.1% of Unieuro’s capital was contributed to the takeover bid, in addition to the 4.4% of the shares that Fnac Darty already owned.
The offer will be reopened from November 4 to 8 to give “the opportunity to more shareholders to offer their shares under the same conditions,” according to the press release.
“We are delighted to announce that we have received the support of 71.5% of Unieuro shareholders within the framework of our acquisition project, thus exceeding the minimum threshold that we had set for ourselves,” Enrique Martínez, CEO of Unieuro, greets in the statement. Fnac Darty. .
“We are very excited and looking forward to working with the Unieuro teams once regulatory approvals have been obtained,” he adds.
On Thursday, the European Commission gave its first green light to this buyback without giving its formal acceptance.
The takeover values Unieuro at 249 million euros.
Fnac Darty announced at the beginning of October the reduction to 66.67% of the minimum threshold of its takeover bid, previously set at 90%, to facilitate the completion of the operation.
In order to withdraw Unieuro from the Stock Market it is necessary to reach the 90% threshold.
Consolidation
At the end of August, the board of directors of the Italian group failed to reach a majority to accept the amount of the takeover bid launched by Fnac Darty against it.
The French group announced in mid-July that it wanted to buy the Italian group with the support of its first shareholder, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
Fnac Darty and Ruby Equity Investment, a subsidiary of a company controlled by Daniel Kretinsky, plan to create a joint investment company that will own the stake in Unieuro.
This joint venture, 51% owned by Fnac Darty and 49% owned by Ruby, would be controlled by the French specialist in the distribution of household and electrical appliances.
In the statement, “Fnac Darty and Ruby welcome the contribution of a large majority of Unieuro’s capital, paving the way for a fruitful industrial partnership.”
Enrique Martínez has never hidden his desire for consolidation in his sector. “We are witnessing a period of consolidation in many professions, distribution must also be strengthened to have the means to compete globally,” he told AFP in July.
He also estimated that this operation could be carried out with “a very limited financial exposure” thanks to the support of its shareholder, which would leave room for maneuver for “other projects.”
The acquisition of Unieuro would allow Fnac Darty to establish itself in Italy, where the French group is not present.
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 and has an annual turnover of 2.6 billion euros. A little less than three-quarters of its stores are located in the north and center of the country.
Fnac Darty is present in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Tunisia, Qatar, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo, Senegal and Saudi Arabia.
At the end of 2023, the group had around a thousand stores and 25,000 employees with a turnover of almost 8 billion euros.
Source: BFM TV