Darty’s board has recommended that shareholders approve Fnac’s 170p per share offer
The board of London-listed electricals group Darty has recommended that its shareholders approve a 170p per share offer from French retailer Fnac.
Darty had been subject to a bidding war between Fnac and rival French homewares retailer Conforama, which is owned by South Africa's Steinhoff. Fnac had originally tabled a 101p per share offer last September, a bid that valued Darty at £533m.
However, last month saw Fnac raise its offer price to 145p per share, against Conforama's proposed 138p price – a move that saw Darty's share price leap by 20 per cent and pushing its value to over £840m.
Conforama later dropped out of the race after Fnac made its final offer of 170p per share.
Darty's board said today: "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 board added that it found the financial terms of Fnac's final offer to be "fair and resonable", and the directors unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the bid.
Darty is being advised by Morgan Stanley, Lazard and UBS.