The board of London-listed electricals retailer Darty has recommended that shareholders approve a takeover offer from French retailer Fnac.
Fnac’s 170p per share bid for the business, equivalent to £914m, trumped a bid by Steinhoff-owned Conforama of 160p per share, following a frenetic bidding war between the two retailers.
Darty said its directors “unanimously” consider the terms of Fnac’s final offer, tabled in April, to be “fair and reasonable” and has withdrawn its recommendation of the Conforama offer.
The retailer said: “In evaluating the Fnac offer, the board of Darty has considered various aspects, including execution risk, and considers the final offer to represent a superior offer for Darty shareholders, as compared to other offers.”
The Darty directors received advice from Morgan Stanley, Lazard and UBS as to the financial terms of the offer to conclude that Fnac’s final offer is “in the best interests of Darty shareholders as a whole”.
Accordingly, the board has “unanimously recommended that Darty shareholders accept the final offer”.
Last week, Darty reported a 12% increase in group like-for-likes during its fourth quarter, driven by a 16% spike in its domestic market.
No comments yet