M&A enabler – levelling up our strategic dialogue

In May, UniCredit acted as financial advisor to Swiss travel retail player Dufry AG (now Avolta AG) in its acquisition of Autogrill SpA – a leading operator of food and beverage services since 1947 active in thirty countries.

The tie-up created a new Group with a dual purpose at its core: to develop a new range of products and services to meet the challenges of a sector in constant evolution, and to improve and innovate the customer experience around travelling.

The transaction valued Autogrill at circa. €4 billion, and took place in two steps – firstly, with the transfer of controlling shareholder Edizione’s shares in Autogrill in exchange for newly issued Dufry shares.

Dufry then launched a mandatory public exchange tender offer on the remaining shares of Autogrill, offering shareholders the possibility to exchange Autogrill for Dufry shares at a rounded exchange ratio. 

The tender offer was completed successfully with a final shareholding of Dufry in Autogrill of 94.5%, allowing the subsequent buyout of minorities and delisting.

The transaction at once underlines our public M&A credentials, as well as the close collaboration between various industry and capital markets teams – UniCredit truly Unlocked as impactful content meets seamless market execution.