Darty receives 'final' 170p offer from Fnac

25th Apr 2016 13:48

(ShareCast News) - Electronics retailer Darty has received a 170p-a-share takeover offer from Paris-based Fnac. Fnac, which had agreed to buy Fnac last year before the deal was railroaded by South Africa's Steinhoff International, has snapped up 18.27% of the London-listed company's shares at that price from several institutional investors on Monday.The French retailer said any further Darty shareholders interested in selling their shares for 170p in cash on Monday "should contact Peel Hunt", which the French company has given authority to make purchases on its behalf.Fnac said it has received support for the 170p offer from other institutional shareholders, which, added to its own holding in the electronics chain, represented roughly 40.38% of the total.Steinhoff subsidiary Conforama, which last week upped its stake in Darty to 160p, said it was "considering its options and urges Darty shareholders to take no further action at this time".Conforama, which owns 20.4% of Darty's shares, last month gatecrashed Fnac's bid, which had been stuck in the mire of the European Union regulatory clearance process since an offer was agreed in November.Darty at that point had agreed an offer of one Fnac share for every 37 of its own, or a small partial cash alternative, which was originally worth roughly £558m but has improved as Fnac's shares have gained ground.Backed by South African retail billionaire Christo Wiese, Steinhoff has deep enough pockets but has form for pulling up mid-race, having recently backed out of its pursuit of Home Retail.