France
In debt, the furniture brand could be taken over by Mobilux, shareholder of But.
Conforama has been controlled since 2011 by a South African shareholder, Steinhoff.
–AFP
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The French Competition Authority announced Monday that it had received the file of the possible takeover of the French brand of distressed furniture distribution Conforama by Mobilux, shareholder of But, a solution favored by the unions.
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This operation “of European dimension taking into account the turnover of the companies concerned” should in principle be examined by the European Commission. “However, the parties requested (…) its referral to the French Competition Authority, considering that it was better placed to examine it,” said the organization in a statement.
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Last week, the unions of Conforama, controlled since 2011 by a South African shareholder, Steinhoff, said that discussions between Mobilux and Conforama France for the acquisition of the latter were well advanced.
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“Catastrophic assessment”
“The sale of Conforama France to the Mobilux group appears to be the only lasting solution to allow us to turn the page on the catastrophic balance sheet of the Steinhoff years, which resulted in considerable debt and the loss of 1,900 jobs,” FO said. from the meeting of a central social and economic committee (CSEC) at Conforama France.
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“The current Mobilux offer, analyzed by the accounting experts of the CSEC, meets all the needs of Conforama France, since it includes all of the liabilities (including full funding of the PES – job safeguard plan , editor’s note) and assets ”, namely the Conforama brand, all establishments and all employees,“ with the exception of stores and employees affected by the PES ”, had detailed the union.
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The brand implemented an approved PSE on February 27, providing for the closure of 42 stores (Conforama and Maison Dépôt brands), as well as 1,900 job cuts out of 9,000 in France.
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25 working days
“The Commission considered that the conditions for the referral of the operation to the Competition Authority were met, (the latter) being the best placed to study the operation with regard in particular to the national impact of the operation and his experience in examining merger operations in this sector, ”added the press release.
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As a reminder, specifies the Competition Authority, “a merger control decision is generally made within 25 working days, from the date of complete receipt of a file”.
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It is now up to Mobilux to formally notify its proposed acquisition, she concluded.
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(ATS)
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