European Acquisition
South Korea's Lotte Group said it will submit a proposal to acquire the World Duty Free S.p.A. (WDF), the sixth-largest duty free business globally. The WDF is the holding company of the World Duty Free Group (WDFG). The Italy-based WDF runs 533 stores in 21 counties and claims 6.98 percent of worldwide market share.
Through this acquisition, Lotte Shopping Co. Ltd., already the world's fourth-largest duty free retailer (7.55 percent share), may jump to cornering a 14.53 percent share, enough to threaten Swiss duty free operator Dufry (15.86 percent share).
Lotte expects this move to be the first step in pioneering its business and customer base to Europe and the U.S. Seventy-two percent of WDF sales come out of the European market, and 20 percent from the U.S.
Sources said that the Lotte Group has been preparing for the acquisition of WDF for months. A spokesman for Lotte said, “Though we can’t disclose a concrete underwriting price, it is certain that we have been very interested in WDF.”
Swiss-based Dufry and KKR, a U.S.-based private equity fund, also reportedly participated in this takeover battle.