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This article was published March 29, 2015 at 08:11.
The Benetton family comes from World Duty Free. The holding company Edizione sold to Swiss Dufry the entire equity of 50.1% for a total of 1.3 billion euro. Following the closing Dufry will launch mandatory tender offer on the remaining shares of WDF, which will lead to delisting from the Milan Stock Exchange.
D’Ascenzo and Filippetti page 17
MILAN
The Benetton sell duty free. After months of rumors and even years in search of a betrothed, arrives Switzerland.
But it is not a marriage: nothing spouses. The Venetian family says goodbye to the airport shops. The holding Edition, the safe of Ponzano Veneto, gives the giant Swiss Dufry the whole package of 50.1% of the subsidiary WDF, born just a year and a half ago, from the split with the parent company Autogrill.
The Swiss will purchase the share of Ponzano to 10.25 euro per share: the Benetton come out with a nice nest egg, 1.3 billion of liquidity. The award is substantial, it is 22% over the past six months. But perhaps the market was expecting something more: the stock market is pricing the title 10.9 euro and Friday had also exceeded 11 euro. There is now waiting for the reaction of the market, on Monday morning. Much will depend on the intentions of the Swiss: they want to be confined to the majority? Or point to the total control and to take the whole society? Whereas with this Dufry, that only nine months ago she bought Nuance well, in fact become the number one in Europe and among the first in the world in duty-free, would make more sense totalitarian takeover because the only way to extract synergies. In the case of delisting, however, it is likely that the market can claim a prize rounder. Dufry currently puts on the plate a price that currency WDF 13 times EBITDA. Nuance, however, the assessment was 10 times.
The fact is that the announcement comes after months of negotiations it was rumored for a partner. In recent weeks was a competitive process, after which it was chosen the Swiss group, said a statement of the company, for the strategic integration of business travel retail worldwide aerodrome. In the end the choice fell on the long-time suitor: many years ago, Dufry had entered into negotiations, then arenatesi. This time, however, the Swiss would also have the financial backing of Qatar, according to market rumors.
The transaction is now subject to approval by the shareholders’ meeting of Dufry, a capital increase aimed at the partial financing of the acquisition and approval by the competent antitrust authorities. A group of shareholders, representing approximately 30% of the voting capital of Dufry, it has already provided to Schema34 Edition and irrevocable commitments to vote at the meeting in favor of the approval of the capital increase mentioned above. By the third quarter of 2015, then, you could close the transaction, following which Dufry will launch a public tender offer on the remaining shares of mandatory WDF.
The sale of WDF, born from scisssione with Autogrill , is a further step in the new strategy that is revolutionizing home Benetton. The revolution started in February 2012 with the delisting of Benetton Clothing, continued at year end with the start of the project Adr-Atlantia and then continue with the split of Autogrill. Three operations are worth around 14 billion euro. Now exit from WDF with a greater appreciation of the latest operation of the fund.
Edition and Schema34 were assisted in negotiations by the law firm Bonelli, Heir, Pappalardo and BofA Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor. Wdf, however, was advised by Deutsche Bank.
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