Dufry AG is in talks to acquire Italian airport retailer World Duty Free SpA as the Swiss company seeks to further expand its global presence, according to people familiar with the matter.
Dufry is holding advanced discussions with World Duty Free’s controlling shareholder, the Benetton family, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private.
While Dufry is seen as the best fit, the process remains competitive and other bidders are still interested in buying the 50.1 percent stake held by the family, the people said.
Other potential bidders include buyout firm KKR and Co and French media group Lagardere SCA, people said last month.
Completing any deal would be slowed down by Italy’s takeover rules, which require a bid for all outstanding shares when there is a change in control. Minority shareholders could than exercise withdrawal rights and sell back their shares to the company.
World Duty Free chief executive officer Eugenio Andrades said last month that the Novara, Italy-based company is open to possible business combinations. Potential bidders started to look at the company’s financial data after World Duty Free presented its three-year strategy last month, the people said.
Edizione Srl, a holding company controlled by the Benettons, said last month that it is open to growth options for World Duty Free, that banks have requested information and no concrete offers have been made.
World Duty Free and Benetton spokesmen declined to comment. Dufry representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Acquiring World Duty Free, which operates stores at airports including London’s Heathrow and Gatwick, would create a business with projected annual sales of about US$9 billion. Dufry chief executive officer Julian Diaz has expanded the Swiss company through about a dozen acquisitions in the past decade, creating a dominant operator in the field of travel retailing.
World Duty Free operates 495 stores in 19 nations and 98 airports across the world, according to its Web site. The Benetton family has held a controlling 50.1 percent stake since the company was spun off from Autogrill SpA and began trading independently in 2013. The family would consider reducing its stake in a combination and favors an industrial partner, one of the people said.
For Dufry, the potential acquisition would be its second major transaction in less than a year, after the company in June last year agreed to buy Nuance Group for US$1.7 billion. A purchase of all of World Duty Free could become Dufry’s largest acquisition ever.
Dufry purchased the Hudson News chain in 2008 and has built a network of more than 1,700 shops in airports, cruise liners, ports and other tourist destinations.
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