Fnac will not give up on electronics chain Darty, which owns Belgian Vanden Borre and Dutch BCC, so easily. The French company has asked Darty’s shareholders not to accept the competing bid for now.
Steinhoff blitzkrieg
Fnac seemed destined to acquire Darty, but South African Steinhoff scuppered the deal at the very last minute. It offered 1.25 pounds per share, in cash, while Fnac offered a combination of shares and cash for a total value of 1.2 pounds per share.
Darty’s board encouraged its shareholders to accept the South African offer: not only is it a financially more appealing offer, it is also more likely the antitrust authorities would approve this deal more easily. Steinhoff’s European reputation mostly relies on the British bed specialist Benson for beds and French furniture chain Conforama, while Fnac is already very active in the electronics market.
However, Fnac is not planning on giving up: the French chain says it is considering all options and called on Darty’s shareholders to refrain from any decision. Darty has more than 400 electronics stores and web shops and uses its Darty and Mistergooddeal.com’s brand names in France, while Vanden Borre is active in Belgium (with 60 stores) and BCC in the Netherlands (75 stores).
