After Editis, Daniel Kretinsky seeks to strengthen himself in France. The Czech businessman would see himself buying Fnac Darty. He already owns 20% of the capital since last summer. According to several sources close to the distribution group, he “is willing to buy the shares of Ceconomy.” The German group is the first shareholder of Fnac Darty with 24% of its capital.
The general director of Fnac Darty, Enrique Martínez, and Daniel Kretinsky “get along very well”, assure several sources close to the two men. Their meeting was facilitated in particular by Denis Olivennes, former head of Fnac, now president of CMI France, which brings together Daniel Kretinsky’s media in France (Marianne, Elle, Public). Contacted, both parties declined to comment.
The management of Fnac Darty in support
Enrique Martínez and his board of directors welcome the ambitions of Daniel Kretinsky. First, because relations with Ceconomy have been almost nil for several years. “There is no synergy,” says a leader of the group. The German group had bought Kering’s shares in Fnac Darty in 2017 to consider collaborations, or even then a marriage. All scenarios have been studied: takeover of the French group by Ceconomy, the reverse or merger. But the German group has never gone further.
For two years now, Fnac Darty has wanted to accelerate the consolidation of the distribution market, particularly in e-commerce, in an attempt to compete with Amazon. But the immobility of its first shareholder prevents it. “Daniel Kretinsky has ambitions and would like Fnac Darty to be on the offensive to make acquisitions,” says a close friend of the group. Both sides have their sights set on rival Casino-owned CDiscount, which could one day sell it to get out of debt. Contacts between Fnac Darty and Casino had taken place in 2019 but its general director, Jean-Charles Naouri, asked for a billion euros, two or three times more than the price assessed by Enrique Martínez.
Ceconomy crashes the game
But at the moment, Ceconomy “is not a seller”, specify these sources, who explain that last year there were several approaches. Daniel Kretinsky knows Ceconomy’s shareholders well. The Haniel family had sold him his shares in the German distribution group Metro, of which Ceconomy was the branch dedicated to electronic products.
This scenario, however, would be good for Fnac Darty, which, being 44% owned by Daniel Kretinsky, would see it leave the stock market. “They dream of that,” says a good connoisseur of the group, while the stock market has been stagnant for years three years. .
According to our information, management has even considered a delisting with the help of an investment fund. Unfortunately, the management of Fnac Darty is impatient with the situation. One last option would be to make an acquisition that Daniel Kretinsky would finance to increase his participation, and Ceconomy would thus allow itself to be diluted in the capital to take a step back, without selling its shares.
Source: BFM TV
