FRANCE/INTERNATIONAL. French catering, concessions and travel retail company Elior – 69% owner of leading Spanish travel retailer and caterer Areas – will be de-listed from the French stock exchange and taken private by a consortium including its leading shareholder. The €1.8 billion deal moved a step closer on Friday with approval from the EU Commission.
The merger proposes that the group be taken private under the ownership of Holding Bercy Investissement (HBI), the company controlling the French caterer Elior, by Robert Zolade, the group’s Chairman, and Charterhouse, a provider of equity capital and fund management services. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not impede competition in the European Economic Area.
Elior owns 69% of Spanish travel retailer and caterer Areas, which in turn controls Operadora Aeroboutiques, the company that manages many of Mexico’s key airport duty free concessions. Through Areas Elior was a key player in the acquisition of Dufry by a group of investors led by Advent International. It was also part of the Advent-led consortium that bid for Spanish travel retailer Aldeasa, which was finally acquired by Autogrill and its partners.
Elior provides catering and vending services for concessions and corporate locations in 13 countries, and has 55,000 staff. The company had sales of €2.8 billion in 2005. In half-year results posted on May 12 Elior sales rose +6.4% to €1.49 billion.
Growth in Elior’s Concession Catering and Travel Retail Division rose +5.8% on a comparable basis in the first half. Sales at airports were €159.5 million, up +10.6% in the period, thanks to strong traffic growth in the group’s key countries of France, Spain and Mexico. Slower growth in the second quarter, however, was blamed by the company partly on a change in passenger flows at Mexico City Airport. Elior described Areas’ expansion as “dynamic”, with the recent opening of new shops and restaurants in Madrid Barajas Terminal Four providing a big boost to sales.
