General
French luxury group Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy has made a takeover bid of 13 billion euros for the American jewellery chain Tiffany & Co, but the bid already appears to have been rejected.
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The Belgian branch of Cash Converters has been bought by a number of shareholders. The new owners also take over thirteen franchise stores.
Fashion
Canadian department store group Hudson's Bay is being delisted from the stock market: a group of shareholders is prepared to pay seven euros per share to take the group into its own hands.
Food
The British franchisee of Domino's pizza has plans to sell its activities in Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. However, there may be hope for the approximately one hundred shops in those four countries.
German chain Rewe has been given permission to acquire most of Lekkerland. The Austrian competition authority however fears that the German supermarket group would gain too much power in the 'on-the-go' segment, particularly in shops at petrol stations.
Babylon Loveshop, an erotics chain from the French-speaking part of Belgium, has decided to expand to the Dutch-speaking part with the partial take-over of its bankrupt competitor Pabo.
British investment company Permira wants to sell its footwear brand Dr. Martens. The label has had an excellent year and the holding company now wants to cash in on that.
Furniture
Dutch bed retailer Beter Bed has succeeded in offloading its German subsidiary, Matratzen Concord, to investor Magical Honour. The latter is paying five million euros for the controversial mattress retailer and will invest just as much in Beter Bed Holding itself.
German retail giant Metro has sold a majority interest in its Chinese operations to local retailer Wumart. The sale fits in with the group’s strategy to focus more on professional customers.
The Belgian branch of Thomas Cook Retail, which filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, is partly starting over again under the umbrella of the Spanish travel agency, Wamos. As a result of the takeover, 195 employees were able to return to work.
French holding company Cafom is looking to sell its subsidiary Habitat. Loss-making branches of the furniture chain are to be closed.
The creditors of the fashion group Gerry Weber have almost unanimously approved an insolvency plan, therefore paving the way for a new start with new owners.
With the acquisition of Ellos (Sweden), fashion group FNG wants to achieve synergies of up to 30 million euros. Analysts at ABN Amro, however, have raised questions about this, both in terms of financing and the actual benefit of the acquisition.
Property
The launch of Westfield on the European continent was celebrated in Paris. The shopping centre operator will have ten Unibail-Rodamco shopping centres under their responsibility, ranging from France to Sweden.
Cosmetics
Belgian Distriplus (the holding company of drogmetics chains Di and Planet Perfume and subsidiary of the Groupe Jacques Bogart) acquires the seventeen Milady perfume shops in Luxembourg.
Rumours about a takeover bid by Carrefour for its rival Casino are re-emerging, a deal that would lead to a strong number one in both France and Brazil. Daniel Kretinsky however may still put a stop to it...
