Czech billionaire Kretinsky tightens grip on Fnac Darty

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has set his sights on Fnac Darty. The investor, who has meanwhile gained a foothold in many major European retailers, is increasing his stake to 20 %.

In six months’ time

Kretinsky is rapidly increasing his share in electronics group Fnac Darty: on 5 July he passed the 20 % threshold in capital and voting rights, the French market authority announced. The Czech billionaire is now the retail holding’s second largest shareholder, after German parent company Ceconomy.

However, the Czech is catching up fast: Ceconomy held 24.30 % of the capital at the end of last year, which is barely more than Kretinsky holds now. The billionaire only started his French expedition at Fnac Darty at the beginning of this year, taking a 5.04 % stake in February. In April, Le Figaro reports, his share was already more than 13 % and now it is also more than 20 %. The investor nevertheless maintains that, despite his strong position in the company, he does not want his own representative on the board of directors.

Kretinsky has become a well-known name in European retail: the Czech tried repeatedly to take over the German wholesale group Metro, strikingly enough the group to which electronics holding company Ceconomy used to belong. The takeover failed, but Kretinsky now has a 40 % stake in Metro. The investor also has a 10 % stake in French supermarket group Casino, while he recently bought into Sainsbury’s and Macy’s, among others.