Fnac Darty flies in Paris after Czech billionaire Kretinsky's takeover bid

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Fnac Darty is soaring on the Paris Stock Exchange, boosted by the takeover bid proposed by its main shareholder, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who values the company at 1.1 billion euros. The stock of the electronics and cultural goods retail chain gained more than 17 per cent to EUR 35.45, approaching the proposed price. Fnac Darty, which controls Unieuro in Italy, announced that the board had received an offer from EP Group, controlled by Kretinsky, proposing the launch of a takeover bid at a price of EUR 36 per share. "The board of directors of Fnac Darty unanimously welcomed the offer," the French company said. Kretinsky is already Fnac's largest shareholder with a 28.5% stake.

The offer is 'not subject to any threshold for success other than exceeding the legal threshold of 50 per cent of the capital and voting rights,' a statement said. Considering the stake already owned by Kretinsky, the investment is estimated by operators at around EUR 230 million. Ep does not intend to proceed with a squeeze-out at the end of the offer and therefore no delisting of the stock is planned. The proposed price represents a premium of 19% over Friday's close and 24% and 26% over the volume-weighted average share price over the past 1 and 3 months. "With this friendly offer, welcomed by the board, we intend to consolidate our commitment by becoming the long-term majority shareholder," Kretinsky said in a note.

"We are committed to supporting the current management team, led by Enrique Martinez, and to ensuring that the company's French roots are maintained, while offering shareholders an attractive liquidity opportunity," added the Czech billionaire, who is very active in France. EP also clarified that it does not intend to change Fnac's dividend policy. The offer is expected to be filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) 'by the end of the first quarter of 2026' Fnac Darty is present in 14 countries with more than 1,500 shops and in 2024 recorded a turnover of more than EUR 10 billion, achieved in part thanks to the acquisition of the Italian Unieuro.

The group was recently the subject of special attention by the French Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding its control and shareholders. The German retailer Ceconomy, which holds more than 20% of the French company's capital, is about to be acquired by the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, which will thus indirectly become the second largest shareholder in Fnac Darty. This change of ownership prompted Bercy to impose several conditions last autumn, including, in addition to non-intervention in management, a commitment by JD.com and Ceconomy not to increase their stake in Fnac Darty. JD.com accepted these conditions at the end of November.