Fnac Darty: Envisaged UNieuro acquisition: Minimum threshold
condition lowered
PRESS RELEASE
Ivry-sur-Seine, France — October 7, 2024, 18:00
CEST
THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS
PRESS RELEASE IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IS NOT
PERMITTED IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA,
CANADA, JAPAN OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY WHERE SUCH COMMUNICATION WOULD
VIOLATE THE RELEVANT APPLICABLE REGULATION
MINIMUM THRESHOLD CONDITION LOWERED FROM
90% TO 66.67% OF UNIEURO SHARE CAPITAL
REFLECTING FNAC DARTY AND RUBY
DETERMINATION TO SUCCESSFULLY PURSUE THE TENDER OFFER ON UNIEURO
S.P.A
-
Consideration equal to €9.0 in cash + 0.1 Fnac Darty share
(implied monetary value of
12.0€1) representing a
unique opportunity for Unieuro shareholders to benefit from an
attractive value proposal:
-
42% premium to unaffected share
price2
-
20% premium to analysts’ average target price
pre-announcement
-
Unieuro’s shareholders invited to tender their shares by
the end of the offer period, 25 October 2024 (5:30 PM
CET)
Reference is made to the voluntary public tender
and exchange offer (the “Offer”) pursuant to Articles 102 and 106,
paragraph 4, of the Italian Legislative Decree no. 58 of February
24, 1998, as subsequently integrated and amended (the “CFA”),
launched by Fnac Darty SA (“Fnac Darty”) and RUBY Equity Investment
S.à.r.l. (“Ruby” and together with Fnac Darty, the “Offerors”) for
all the ordinary shares of Unieuro S.p.A. (“Unieuro” or the
“Issuer”) not already held by the Offerors, including the treasury
shares directly or indirectly held, from time to time, by
Unieuro.
Pursuant to and for the purposes of Articles 36
and 43 of the Issuers' Regulations, the Offerors hereby announce
their decision to amend the Minimum Threshold Condition by reducing
the shareholding required for its fulfillment.
The Minimum Threshold Condition, as amended as a
result of this notice, will be deemed to have been fulfilled if
acceptances to the Offer are obtained to an extent that enables the
Offerors to achieve directly and/or indirectly a stake at least
equal to 66.67% of the Issuer’s share capital, also counting for
this purpose any Unieuro Shares acquired by the Offerors outside
the Offer in accordance with applicable law and regulatory
provisions. This level will allow the Offerors to propose and
approve at the shareholders’ meeting of Unieuro the merger of
Unieuro into a non-listed company, in compliance with the related
parties’ transactions regulation, with the consequent delisting of
Unieuro shares. Additional details can be found in the Offer
Document.
The Offerors reaffirm their strong conviction
regarding the attractiveness of the Consideration, valuing Unieuro
at €12.03 per share and representing a premium of
42%4, which was also deemed fair from a financial
standpoint by the two independent financial advisors appointed by
Unieuro’s board of directors, as better detailed in the Issuer’s
statement published in accordance with Article 103 of the
CFA5. In addition, the Share Portion will allow Unieuro
shareholders tendering their shares to benefit from value creation
potential arising from the combined entity.
Furthermore, the Offerors are firmly convinced
that the combination, which will create a leader in consumer
electronics, domestic appliances, editorial products and services
in Southern and Western Europe, will be beneficial to the clients,
employees and franchisees of both companies and intend to retain
all of Unieuro’s employees.
All terms not defined in this press release
shall have the same meaning given to them in the offer document,
approved by Consob with resolution no. 23231 of 23 August, 2024,
and published on August 24, 2024 (the “Offer Document”), among
others, on the website of Unieuro (www.unieurospa.com) and on the
website of Fnac Darty (www.fnacdarty.com).
As stated in the Offer Document, the Offerors
reserve, in any case, the right to waive, and/or amend in whole or
in part, to the extent permitted by applicable laws, one or more of
the Conditions Precedent (including the Minimum Threshold Condition
as amended today) at their discretion. Except as stated in this
notice, all other terms and conditions of the Offer, as described
in the Offer Document to which reference is made, remain
unchanged.
*****
Legal Disclaimer
The Offer is being launched exclusively in
Italy and will be made on a non-discriminatory basis and on equal
terms to all holders of Unieuro shares, as set out in the notice
published pursuant to Article 102 of Italian Legislative Decree No.
58 of February 24, 1998 and as further described in the Offer
Document, the Exemption Document and the Issuer’s Statement
prepared by the board of directors of Unieuro pursuant to Article
103, paragraphs 3 and 3-bis, of Italian Legislative Decree No. 58
of February 24, 1998, which were published in accordance with the
applicable regulations.
The Offer has not been and will not be made
in the United States of America (including its territories and
possessions, any state of the United States of America and the
District of Columbia) (the “United States”), Canada, Japan,
Australia and any other jurisdictions where making the Offer or
tendering therein would not be in compliance with the securities or
other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any
registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority
(such jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, Japan and
Australia, the "Excluded Countries"), by using national or
international instruments of communication or commerce of the
Excluded Countries (including, by way of illustration, the postal
network, fax, telex, e-mail, telephone and internet), through any
structure of any of the Excluded Countries’ financial
intermediaries or in any other way. No actions have been taken or
will be taken to make the Offer possible in any of the Excluded
Countries.
Copies, full or partial, of any documents
relating to the Offer, including this press release, are not and
should not be sent, or in any way transmitted, or otherwise
distributed, directly or indirectly, in the Excluded Countries. Any
person receiving any such documents shall not distribute, send or
dispatch them (whether by post or by any other mean or device of
communication or international commerce) in the Excluded Countries.
Any document relating to the Offer, including this press release,
do not constitute and shall not be construed as an offer of
financial instruments addressed to persons domiciled and/or
resident in the Excluded Countries. No securities may be offered or
sold in the Excluded Countries without specific authorization in
accordance with the applicable provisions of the local law of the
Excluded Countries or a waiver thereof.
This press release is not an offer to sell
or a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe for
shares.
This press release and the information
contained herein are not for distribution in or into the United
States. This press release does not constitute, or form part of, an
offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any
securities in the United States. The securities of Fnac Darty have
not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act
and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent
registration or an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction
not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities
Act. There is no intention to register any securities referred to
herein in the United States or to make a public offering of the
securities in the United States.
About Fnac Darty
Operating in 13 countries, Fnac Darty is a
European leader in the retail of entertainment and leisure
products, consumer electronics and domestic appliances. The Group,
which has almost 25,000 employees, has a multi-format network of
more than 1,000 stores at the end of December 2023, and is ranked
as a major e-commerce player in France (more than 27 million unique
visitors per month on average) with its three merchant sites,
fnac.com, darty.com and natureetdecouvertes.com. A leading
omnichannel player, Fnac Darty’s revenue was around €8 billion in
2023, 22% of which was realized online. For more information:
www.fnacdarty.com
CONTACTS
ANALYSTS/INVESTORS
Domitille Vielle – Head of Investor Relations –
domitille.vielle@fnacdarty.com – +33 (0)6 03 86 05 02
Laura Parisot – Investor Relations Manager –
laura.parisot@fnacdarty.com – +33 (0)6 64 74 27 18
PRESS
Marianne Hervé – mherve@image7.fr – +33 (0)6 23
83 59 29
1 Taking into consideration both the Cash Portion and the Share
Portion and based on the closing price of Fnac-Darty shares equal
to €30.20, as recorded on July 15, 2024 (i.e. the last trading day
before the announcement of the Offer).
2 Based on the spot volume-weighted average closing price as of
July 15, 2024.
3 Taking into consideration both the Cash Portion and the Share
Portion and based on the closing price of Fnac-Darty shares equal
to €30.20, as recorded on July 15, 2024 (i.e. the last trading day
before the announcement of the Offer).
4 Based on the spot volume-weighted average closing price as of
July 15, 2024.
5 The offer price was deemed fair from a financial
standpoint by EQUITA SIM S.p.A. and Mediobanca Banca di Credito
Finanziario S.p.A., both appointed by Unieuro’s board of directors
to release a fairness opinion on the consideration of the Offer, as
well as by five directors of Unieuro (including the chairman of the
board of directors and two other independent directors).
- 20241007_PR Minimum Threshold Condition lowered (ENG)
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