Zurich (awp) – The specialist in duty-free shops Dufry is asking its shareholders to approve the entry of representatives of the Edizione holding company, in the hands of the Benetton family, into its board of directors. The vote will take place remotely during the extraordinary general meeting on August 31.
Dufry, who in July announced a merger with the transalpine operator of motorway restaurants Autogrill, wants to integrate Alessandro Benetton, currently chairman of the board of directors of Edizione and Autogrill, as well as Enrico Laghi, managing director of Edizione.
Securityholders will also vote on the creation of additional conditional share capital of up to 153.31 million Swiss francs, through the issuance of up to 30.7 million registered shares to 5 Swiss francs each, as well as the creation of an authorized share capital of 226.99 million Swiss francs.
As part of the operation, the Edizione holding company will transfer the 50.3% it holds in Autogrill against 30.7 million Dufry shares which will be issued as part of a capital increase. It will thus become the main shareholder of the Basel retailer, with a share of between 20% and 25%.
ck/al