According to BFM Business, the European Commission reportedly approved on Tuesday the takeover bid launched in January by Daniel Kretinsky to gain majority control of Fnac Darty. This would be the last approval expected for the deal.
Daniel Kretinsky is already the group's main shareholder, with 28.5% of the capital. At the end of the takeover bid, he would hold 50%. L'offre from EP Group proposed a price of 36 euros per share, valuing Fnac Darty at more than one billion euros. The unit acquisition price for the Oceanes is set at 81.12 euros.
A threshold that changes the shareholder balance
By crossing the 50% threshold, Daniel Kretinsky would de facto prevent the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com from gaining greater weight in the company's decisions, according to BFM Business. JD.com is indeed in the process of acquiring the German retailer Ceconomy, which itself holds more than 20% of Fnac Darty's capital: this indirectly makes the Chinese group the second-largest shareholder in the French company.
The European Commission had opened an in-depth investigation in May into JD.com's takeover offer, suspected of being backed by Chinese public subsidies. Chine had at the time described this action as "mesures inappropriées de juridiction extraterritoriale".
Timeline and next steps
L'AMF had given its green light to the takeover bid in May, and Fnac Darty's Conseil d'administration had issued a favourable opinion on the offer. The deal will not result in the group's delisting from the Bourse de Paris.
According to BFM Business, the Autorité des marchés financiers will announce in the coming days the final timetable for the offer, including its closing date, expected in early November.
