Kingfisher casts doubt on Mr Bricolage deal (updated)

Mr Bricolage SA

24/03/2015 11:26

(Adds detail) 
    LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Kingfisher's  KGF.L  275 
million euro ($302 million) takeover of France's Mr Bricolage 
 MBRI.PA  has been thrown into doubt, after the British DIY firm 
said the majority of the board and the largest shareholder of 
the target company had reservations.   
    Kingfisher, Europe's biggest home improvement retailer, said 
last April it had agreed a deal to buy Mr Bricolage to beef-up 
its position in France, its most profitable market, where it 
already trades as Castorama and Brico Depot.  ID:nL5N0MV17N  
    However, it said on Tuesday it had yet to receive 
clarification of the positions of the majority of the Mr 
Bricolage board and of the Association Nationale des Promoteurs 
de Faites Le Vous-Mene (ANPF), a franchisees group that owns 
41.9 percent of the French firm's equity.  
    "Kingfisher has been made aware that both the majority of 
the Board of Mr Bricolage and the ANPF, a major shareholder of 
Mr Bricolage, have reservations in relation to the transaction," 
it said in a statement. 
    Shares in Kingfisher were down 1.3 percent at 368 pence at 
1055 GMT.  
    "The implications for the transaction are currently 
uncertain. Kingfisher will update investors in due course," the 
company said. 
    Shares in Mr Bricolage were suspended in Paris on Monday at 
the request of the company pending a statement.  ID:nL6N0WP17Y  
    Kingfisher said the founding Tabur family of Mr Bricolage, 
which owns 26.2 percent of its equity and is a signatory to the 
agreement, remained committed to the deal. 
    Last April, Kingfisher struck a deal with the ANPF and the 
Tabur family to buy their holdings for 15 euros a share. The 
agreement was binding, subject only to regulatory clearance. 
    Subsequently Kingfisher was to make a mandatory offer to buy 
Mr Bricolage shares held by minority shareholders. 
    The deal with the major shareholders was submitted to 
anti-trust authorities on Jan. 26. 
    Mr Bricolage declined to comment. 
    The situation is a headache for Kingfisher's new chief 
executive Veronique Laury, who succeeded Ian Cheshire on Dec. 8 
and is scheduled to present 2014-15 results on March 31. 
    ($1 = 0.9121 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by James Davey and Neil Maidment; Additional 
reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Mark Potter) 
 ((james.davey@thomsonreuters.com; +44)(0)(207 542 7674; Reuters 
Messaging: james.davey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BRICOLAGE M&A/KINGFISHER