Conforama, the European home retail chain under Steinhoff International, has stated that it has no intention to increase its current bid for the French electronics retailer Darty.
The chain has recently been competing for Darty with Fnac, which made its “final” bid for the prize this week. While Conforama‘s last offer, which was made last week, valued Darty at 160p per share, Fnac‘s latest offer stands at 170p per share.
“Our independent board and management had a clear valuation in mind for the standalone Darty business,” said Alexander Nodale, Chief Executive Officer of Conforama. “Our final offer of 160 pence for each Darty share reflects the evaluation criteria we use for all acquisitions, including return on investment and value creation. We remain of the opinion that, at this price, the Darty business would have been a good addition to the Steinhoff group of businesses but, at an increased price, it would no longer create sufficient value for Steinhoff shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.”
This potential end to the process echoes Steinhoff‘s recent bid to acquire Home Retail Group, which put it at odds with Sainsbury‘s until mid-March, where it abandoned its pursuit to make a bid for Darty.
