The European Commission has given its green light to the acquisition of World Duty Free Limited (WDF) by Autogrill, which will allow the Benetton family company to become the world's biggest duty free shop operator.
Autogrill, which is specialised in highway and airport restaurant concessions, will acquire WDF from the British airport management company BAA, which owns seven leading airports in Britain where WDF controls the travel retail sector.
Several weeks ago the EC approved Autogrill's acquisition of 49.9% of Spain's Aldeasa which operates duty free shops and travel retail activities in Spain, Portugal and a number of countries outside the European Union.
Autogrill already owned 50% of Aldeasa.
The Benetton company spent a total of some 1.345 billion euros to buy the two stakes: 1.070 billion euros for WDF and 275 for the Spanish operator.
The sale of WDF will allow BAA's Spanish owners Ferrovial to refinance the company's debts of some four billion pounds and thus avoid seeing BAA bonds from being downgraded.
Autogrill bought 50% of Aldeasa in 2005 and the remaining 49.95% from Imperial Tobacco Group. The Spanish retailer, specialising in cigarettes and perfume, has shops in Spanish and foreign airports as well as key museums and historic sites in Spain, Portugal, Chile and Peru.
Autogrill began as a motorway restaurant chain and now has over 5,200 outlets throughout the world which include franchises for Burger King and Starbucks.
The Benetton family company, which is also expanding into in-flight meals, expects to merge its airport activities, which include those of the Alpha Group, to produce 40 million euros operating savings by 2011.
Alpha operates airport restaurants and travel retail in Italy, Britain and non-EU countries as well as at the British Eurotunnel terminal.
Autogrill sales in 2007 jumped some 23.7% to over 4.8 billion euros.
