Dufry in

Nigel Thomas
30 Mar, 2015
New York City

Dufry agreed to acquire majority stake in the rival World Duty Free for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Dufry agreed to acquire a majority stake in the rival World Duty Free for €3.6 billion. Holcim divested 27.5% stake in Siam City Cement for 655 million francs. Hamburger Hafen profit soared 9% to €59 million. Quindell agreed to sell its Professional Services division to Slater and Gordon for £637 million.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 0.6% or 39.59 to 6,894.61 and in Frankfurt the DAX index climbed 1.6% or 186.85 to 12,055.18.

In Paris, CAC 40 index jumped 0.9% or 43.56 to 5,077.62.

Dufry AG surged 7.7% to 145.90 Swiss francs after the Switzerland-based travel retailer agreed to acquire a majority stake in Italy-based rival World Duty Free SpA for about €3.6 billion from the Benetton family.

Shares of World Duty Free SpA tumbled 8.4% to €10.04.

Holcim Ltd fell 0.3% to 73.10 Swiss francs after the Switzerland-based cement producer divested its entire remaining stake of about 27.5% in Thailand-based rival Siam City Cement PCL in deals worth 655 million francs or $679 million.

Lafarge SA slipped 1.9% to €60.42 after the Holcim’s Switzerland-based major shareholder Eurocement Holding AG plans to vote against the Lafarge’s merger proposal unless the financial terms of the deal are altered and agreed on new terms and management changes.

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG gained 0.9% to €20.58 after the Germany-based logistics solution provider reported revenues in the year ending in December climbed 5.4% to €1.20 billion form €1.14 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year soared 8.5% from a year ago to €58.9 million compared to €54.3 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to €0.81 from €0.75.

Quindell Plc climbed 6.1% to 146.43 pence after the consulting and outsourcing services provider signed a conditional agreement to dispose the Professional Services Division to Australia-based law-firm Slater and Gordon Limited for £637 million in cash or $923.4 million.

Total SA increased 0.8% to €47 after the France-based oil and gas producer agreed to sell its stake in an onshore Oil Mining Lease in Nigeria to Aiteo Eastern E&P for $569 million.

Total holds 10% stake in several onshore blocks in Nigeria and from earlier the company divested its assets in the country of more than $1 billion.