Ceconomy buys controlling stake in France's Fnac Darty

German consumer electronics company Ceconomy has paid €425m to acquire the controlling stake of 24.33% in the Fnac Darty, the largest French cultural product chain, from Artémis.
 
This follows Fnac’s acquisition of the French Darty electrical goods chain last year, and the departure of chairman and c.e.o. Alexandre Bompard, who will now run the Carrefour retailing group. He has been replaced by Jacques Veyrat as chairman and Enrique Martinez as c.e.o.
 
Bompard took the helm at the Fnac six years ago, when the chain’s sales were declining and its future looked bleak. He took the company public in 2013 after efforts to find a buyer had failed, leaving the Pinault family’s holding company Artémis with the controlling share.

In March, Fnac Darty reported "solid" results for 2016.