Step by step, Fnac Darty has acquired its Italian competitor Unieuro. The French group is now taking the Italian chain off the stock exchange and aims to integrate it into its own label.
“European leader in electronics”
With its investment partner and majority shareholder Daniel Kretinsky, Fnac Darty has gradually acquired 91.1 % of all shares in the Italian electronics chain. The group already owned 4.4 % before acquiring 67.1 % of all shares on 25 Octobe.
With its latest acquisition, Fnac Darty has crossed the 90 % threshold and will now make a mandatory buyout offer for the remaining 8.9 % of shares. This will cause Unieuro to fully disappear from the stock exchange. The takeover still needs the approval of competition authorities, but this is expected to follow within weeks.
CEO Enrique Martinez has expressed his delight with the acquisition, saying that Fnac Darty is now “even more convinced that [its] ambition to become a European leader in specialised retail is widely supported.” Together, Unieuro and Fnac Darty will account for annual sales of more than ten billion euros in 1,500 shops and with 30,000 employees.
