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LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in Kingfisher Group PLC rose on Monday after the FTSE 100-listed DIY retailer said will not proceed with a deal to acquire Mr Bricolage amid continued opposition to the deal from a key shareholder and the board of the French company.
Kingfisher, the owner of stores including B&Q and Screwfix, said the deadline for gaining antitrust clearance for the deal in France was March 31 and, as a result of the opposition to the deal from ANPF and the Mr Bricolage board, that deadline is no longer viable. Kingfisher said it is considering all of its options.
Shares in Kingfisher were up 2.2% to 365.5 pence following the announcement, putting it amongst the best performers in the FTSE 100 index.
Kingfisher entered into a deal in July last year to acquire Mr Bricolage for EUR275 million, having initially entered talks to buy the business in April. Under the terms of the proposed deal, it was to acquire a 41.9% stake from from ANPF, which is held by franchisees, and 26.2% from the Tabur Family, at an agreed price per share of EUR15. It would then make a mandatory offer to the minority shareholders.
Last week, it warned the deal may be under threat after ANPF and Mr Bricolage's board said the undertaking required to get the deal passed French antitrust regulators were "no longer in their interests".
"Without the consent of Mr Bricolage and the ANPF, the competition clearance undertakings necessary to finalise the transaction cannot be given," Kingfisher said in its statement outlining the reservations last week.
The deal was under scrutiny from the French antitrust regulator, which was apparently demanding undertakings before it would allow it to go ahead, because Kingfisher already has 113 Brico Dépôt and 103 Castorama stores in France. Mr Bricolage has about 797 shops under its banner in France, including several hundred franchise outlets.
Kingfisher's sales in France declined 9.3% in the third quarter of its recently-ended financial year, while profit in the country fell to GBP120 million, from GBP140 million a year earlier. It blamed the weak French economy for the decline.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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