Carrefour, the second largest retail chain in the world, has announced the signing of a strategic agreement with Showroomprivé, Europe's second-largest online private sales player. In order to seal this partnership, Carrefour will acquire c. 17 per cent of the share capital of Showroomprivé from Conforama, a subsidiary of the Steinhoff group.

Carrefour's equity investment in Showroomprivé will take the form of an off-market acquisition of the block of shares owned by Conforama at price of €13.5 per share, for a total amount of c. €79 million. This partnership is part of the two groups’ strategy of developing a leading omni-channel offering, and will notably cover such aspects as commercial, marketing, logistics and data.

"This partnership is a new step in the acceleration of our digital strategy, in an omni-channel approach. It also allows Carrefour to enter the online private sales market and strengthen its offering. I am convinced of the quality of Showroomprivé's management and the strong potential resulting from the operational cooperation between our two groups," Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour, said. 

"We are pleased with this partnership with Carrefour. It allows us to enter a new stage after the agreement with Conforama, in partnership with one of the world's leading retailers. It allows us to continue building our omni-channel offering and opens up unprecedented opportunities," said Thierry Petit and David Dayan, co-founders of Showroomprivé.

An additional payment will be made by Carrefour to Conforama. Carrefour will launch a takeover bid for Showroomprivé within eighteen months of the completion of the transaction. This additional payment will be equal to the difference between the offer price per share made by Carrefour and the acquisition price (€13.5), multiplied by the number of shares sold by Conforama.

Upon completion of the transaction, Carrefour will replace Conforama in the current shareholders’ agreement between the founders of Showroomprivé and Conforama, under an agreement whose main terms are identical to the existing pact between the founders and Conforama / Steinhoff. The founders will retain 27.17 per cent of the capital and 40.42 per cent of the voting rights. Carrefour will hold 16.86 per cent of the capital and 13.67 per cent of the voting rights. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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