By Alban Kacher
(Reuters) -Fnac Darty on Friday presented the preliminary results of its tender offer for Italian consumer electronics distributor Unieuro <UNIR.MI>, saying it would aim to acquire an additional 67.1% stake in the company, building on the 4.4% it already owns.
“We are very pleased to announce that we have received the support of 71.5% of Unieuro shareholders for our acquisition project, exceeding the minimal threshold we had set,” group CEO Enrique Martinez said in a press release.
As Fnac’s stake remained under 90%, a reopening of the tender period is expected during Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, it said.
The final results of the offer will be published on Oct. 31, the group said.
Earlier this month, Unieuro had announced lowering the minimum threshold condition to 66.67% from 90%.
The French retailer offered 9 euros ($9.75) in cash and 0.1 newly issued ordinary Fnac Darty share for each Unieuro share, which represents a 42% premium to the unaffected share price, the group said in a statement.
Fnac Darty had announced in July it offered to buy Unieuro for around 249 million euros ($271 million), in a joint offer with Ruby Equity Investment. The French group said it aims to create a market leader in consumer electronics and domestic appliances in southern and western Europe.
Ruby is an affiliate of Vesa Equity Investment, Fnac’s top shareholder, which is controlled by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who is vying to expand his sprawling empire of investments ranging from media to retail and football.
Fnac Darty said the merged company would aim for over 10 billion euros ($10.94 billion) in annual sales, and have around 30,000 employees and more than 1,500 stores.
(Reporting by Alban Kacher; Editing by Louise Heavens and Leslie Adler)
