Book & music chain Fnac buys electronics chain Darty for £558 million-- a move the two companies say creates a "key player" in the European CE retail landscape.
The takeover creates a mega-retail group with sales reaching more than €7 billion and earnings of around €270m (after an estimated annual savings of around €85m).
Darty refused an offer worth £533m earlier in November, leading to Fnac sweetening the deal with a higher price per share (105p, as opposed to the earlier 101p).
The two companies combined have 380 stores in France and over 200 outlets in other countries (including Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Brazil).
In addition to the Darty electronics chain in France, Darty operates Vanden Borre stores in Belgium and BCC in the Netherlands. The company sold its unprofitable Comet chain in UK in 2012.
Fnac CEO Alexandre Bompard says the acquisition "constitutes a compelling strategic opportunity for both groups by creating a leader in the French electronics, editorial and home appliances retail markets, as well as a key player in the wider European consumer electronics landscape."
The deal is set to close sometime around Q3 2016, since it is subject to the scrutiny of EU competition regulators.