Unieuro, the company distributing consumer electronics and household appliances in Italy, is officially in the hands of Daniel Kretinsky, the billionaire who controls Fnac Darty, French electronics giant, in addition to the daily newspaper Le Monde. Nicknamed 'The Sphinx' in business circles for his reserve Kretinsky, is originally from the Czech Republic, where he did business in the world of gas. On Friday evening he was the CEO Enrique Martinez to announce the conclusion of the takeover bid: "the sell-out procedure can therefore be started, with the consequent delisting of Unieuro". 86,7% of the shares have changed hands between September 2 and last Friday: combined with a 4,4% previously held, they bring the French to 91,1%, with a investment of almost 250 million euros, the value of 19 million shares out of 20 total. The payment date of the reopening of the terms will take place on November 15, 2024.
The future of Unieuro in Italy and in Fnac Durty
What will remain of Unieuro? The sign on over 500 stores will certainly remain, as will the company that was founded in 1937 in Brisighella, on the Faenza Apennines, then brought to Forlì by the Silvestrini family. The family, today represented by Giuseppe and Maria Grazia, is among those who sold the stake. There was also the hypothesis, later wrecked, that the Italian government wanted to use the golden power on the takeover bid, not so much for the sector which is not strategic (since it does not fall within defense, national security, transportation or communications in the strict sense), but for customer data. It is now a question of finding an agreement with the unions for the over 5000 employees.
“This important success” he commented Martinez“, reinforces our ambition to build a leader in specialized retail in Europe”. Fnac Darty was already active in Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg. Now it adds Italy, with the idea of create critical mass against the web giants.“While awaiting regulatory approvals, which I expect to arrive within a few weeks, we look forward to working with the Unieuro teams to ensure a smooth integration and thus generate value for all our shareholders, partners and customers.” Unieuro investors also received 0,1 Fnac Darty shares, thus also entering the French company.
