EP Group Takes 69.3% of Fnac Darty, Becomes Controlling Shareholder
Key Facts
Fnac Darty announced on November 10, 2026, that the takeover offer launched by EP Group had succeeded, making the group the controlling shareholder with a 69.3% stake in the French retailer’s share capital. The company said the stake was reached at the end of the initial acceptance period, which closed on November 9. Shareholders tendered 12,131,427 shares and 525,798 OCEANE bonds into the offer. The result marks a shift to effective control, after EP Group subsidiary VESA held 28.5% of the share capital when the proposed offer was announced in January. EP Group Chairman Daniel Křetínský said taking control "marks an important milestone in our long-term investment in the company."
The initial acceptance period ran from May 12 to November 9, 2026, after the company set the closing date in an announcement in October. France’s Financial Markets Authority was due to publish the offer result within days of its conclusion. The offer required the legal threshold to be exceeded — ownership of more than 50% of the share capital or voting rights — with no additional success threshold. EP Group’s 69.3% stake was above that level, and Fnac Darty declared the offer successful based on the result. The proposed offer was launched on January 26 at a cash price of 36 euros per share, a 19% premium to the previous closing price.
The offer will reopen from November 12 through November 25, 2026, inclusive, giving shareholders and OCEANE bondholders who did not participate in the first period an opportunity to tender their securities. Fnac Darty said the reopening would be on the same terms, with consideration of 35 euros per share following payment of the 2025 dividend of 1.0 euro on June 5, 2026. The consideration is 81.161 euros for each OCEANE bond. The new period gives investors who did not participate the chance to respond after control was announced, at those specified prices. The company had said in an earlier announcement that a successful offer would be reopened for at least ten trading days.
Control follows completion of the offer’s regulatory approval process. Fnac Darty cited French foreign investment screening approval on March 26, 2026, followed by European Commission approval under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation on May 4. France’s Financial Markets Authority declared the offer compliant on May 7, before it opened on May 12. Before the acceptance period closed, Fnac Darty’s chief executive said the group was performing strongly in a complex environment and welcomed the European Commission’s approval of the offer. He added at the time that shareholders had until November 9 to tender their shares, the date the initial period ended.
Fnac Darty describes itself as operating in 15 countries, employing nearly 30,000 people and running around 1,500 stores in various formats. The group recorded sales of more than 10 billion euros in 2025. Its main markets include France, Italy, Belgium and Portugal, with a growing presence in Spain and Switzerland, according to Křetínský. This regional network provides context for EP Group’s long-term investment in the company, as described by the group’s chairman. The offer result alone does not change these operating figures reported by the company about the scope of its business.
Fnac Darty’s like-for-like sales rose 1.8% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, while they fell 0.4% in France and grew 5.0% elsewhere in Europe. The company also forecast an increase in recurring operating margin and free cash flow from operations in 2026, while maintaining the 2030 targets of its Beyond everyday plan. It had said settlement of the initial acceptance period results would take place on November 12, 2026. These operating indicators and the 2030 plan provide a backdrop to the long-term investment priority Křetínský described. Shareholders who did not accept the offer can tender their shares or bonds during the reopening period, which runs through November 25.