Darty: between Fnac and Conforama, the battle rages – The Point

Fnac and Conforama indulged Thursday a fierce battle to seize Darty, multiplying the bidding to acquire the iconic brand of appliance they covet for months. As in a game of poker, cultural agitator and furniture retailer noted twice each their bids Darty since Wednesday night.

Conforama launched the movement by offering the equivalent of 943 million euros, followed by Fnac, which put on the table 987 million early in the day. By early afternoon, the billion euros was eventually reached by the two contenders Darty: half an hour apart, Conforama raised its bid to 1.02 billion euros, Fnac pushing to climb again his, just above the level proposed by its competitor, to 1.04 billion. This is a new twist in the battle between last month Fnac and Conforama Darty to acquire.

Fnac initially was favored by Darty, before Conforama only offers a superior offer, which was approved in mid-March by the direction of home appliance distributor. Darty but had not formally excluded to reconcile with Fnac if it were to bid. Darty had noted Thursday noon of the first bidding war between its two suitors, adding that its board “would carefully consider before making timely a new recommendation to shareholders.”

Darty, a recognized brand

by marrying at Fnac, Darty strengthen its development in technical products – which already represents 55% of sales of Fnac -, while an alliance with the Conforama would anchor on universe of the house – 60 to 65% of the activity of Conforama. The home appliance distributor arouses desires since he managed to return to profit a year ago. Darty brand anchored in the French daily since 1957, is also particularly known for the quality of its customer service.

Grab Darty enable Fnac to strengthen its diversification strategy beyond the sale of cultural and technological products, its core business. In this role, she launched since 2012 in the distribution of new product families, including appliances. Fnac (which recently hosted Vivendi’s capital) argued Thursday that its improved offer “represents a major strategic opportunity” and allow it to generate annual savings, revalued to € 130 million while they were originally encrypted 85 million. Unions had expressed serious concerns to the announcement of the proposed acquisition by Fnac, fearing job cuts.

Three size groups comparable

Meanwhile, the board of Conforama aims “to create a french leader in the distribution of goods and home accessories, operating under strong brands and complementary”. In terms of settlements, something that will prove decisive in the examination of projects redemption by the Competition Authority, Fnac and Darty often appear side by side in large cities, which could result in requests store disposals. Conforama is more present in the periphery of small and medium towns, where there is also Darty, but also rival stores like Boulanger or Purpose, thus posits less competition problems.

three groups are of comparable size. Fnac, which employs 14 500 employees (61% in France), reached in 2015 a net profit of 48 million euros for a turnover of 3.87 billion. Darty (12,600 employees) has returned to profit last year (13.8 million euros on sales of 3.51 billion). Finally, Conforama (13 400 workers in Europe) conducted its last fiscal year a turnover of 3.22 billion.