Books and music retailer Fnac revealed today that it has increased its offer for Darty, Europe‘s third largest electrical goods retailer.
Darty was previously valued at £533m by Fnac but with the new offer could be worth £615m. Based in London, Darty‘s board of directors said it was ready to recommend any firm offer from Fnac unanimously to its shareholders.
Any deal would create a French market leader in white goods. The new offer has already received support from Knight Vinke Asset Management and DNCA Finance, which together own just under 24% of Darty.
“The boards of Fnac and Darty believe that the proposed transaction will benefit both groups and represents a unique value creation opportunity for both Darty and Fnac shareholders,” a statement from the two companies said.
Darty currently has around 400 stores in Europe and earns 70% of its revenue in France. It is in competition with Metro‘s Media-Saturn as well as Britain‘s Dixons.
