The Benetton family has agreed to sell its majority stake in restaurant operator Autogrill to duty free giant Dufry. It is estimated that the group resulting from this operation will have a market value of more than 6 billion dollars, according to Bloomberg.
As part of the deal, the Benettons will receive 0.158 new Dufry shares for each Autogrill share, giving them ownership of up to 25% of the Swiss company. This is the second largest operation that the Italian family has closed in recent months after the takeover bid launched in April together with Blackstone for the road operator Atlantia.
For their part, Autogrill investors will receive new Dufry shares or 6.33 euros in cash for each share of the Italian company. Under the all-cash offer, Autogrill’s market valuation would amount to €2.44 billion.
The group resulting from the merger will have 5,500 points of sale in around 1,200 airports. In addition, the agreement will allow Dufry to expand in the United States and join other locations in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
Dufry’s CEO, Xavier Rossinyol, will lead the group resulting from the merger between Dufry and Autogrill, while Alessandro Benetton will be named honorary president of Dufry. The family will also name two of its executives as vice presidents. In addition, Autogrill CEO Gianmario Tondato will be named head of North American operations.
The transformation of the Benetton family business has accelerated in the wake of Alessandro Benetton, son of company founder Luciano Benetton, taking the reins earlier this year of the Edizione holding company, whose reorganization began after a deadly bridge collapse in Genoa in 2018, on a stretch of road managed by Autostrade. Company that the Benettons finally sold to end a confrontation with the Italian Government over the disaster.
