Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

B&Q parent Kingfisher pulls out of Mr Bricolage takeover talks a day before results

The collapse of the €275m (£200m) deal is a blow to the retail group’s new chief executive Veronique Laury who presents her first set of results on Tuesday

Simon Neville
Monday 30 March 2015 17:22 BST
Comments
On Tuesday, Véronique Laury presents her first set of results since taking over from Sir Ian Cheshire
On Tuesday, Véronique Laury presents her first set of results since taking over from Sir Ian Cheshire

Executives at B&Q parent company Kingfisher have been left red faced after nine months of negotiations to buy French rival DIY chain Mr Bricolage collapsed leaving them empty handed.

The collapse of the €275m (£200m) deal is a blow to the retail group’s new chief executive Veronique Laury who tomorrow presents her first set of results since taking over from Sir Ian Cheshire who retired earlier this year.

The company, which already owns French chains Castorama and Brico Dépôt, had hoped to close the deal by its self-imposed deadline of tomorrow.

But last week Mr Bricolage’s largest shareholder, ANPF, which controls Mr Bricolage’s franchisees and is a 42% shareholder, changed it mind and opposed the deal. The board followed suit. Kingfisher shares rose 2.3% to 366p today.

The deal would have seen Kingfisher enter the franchise model for the first time and continue its growth on the continent, but ANPF’s opposition would have made it impossible to get regulatory approval in France within the deadline.

Kingfisher’s chief executive Kevin O’Byrne is expected to step down after his was overlooked for the top job in favour of Laury, who previously ran the Castorama business.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in