Kingfisher PLC
11 July 2003
Kingfisher sells non-core French specialist builders merchant subsidiary, Dubois
Materiaux, for Euro 100 million
Kingfisher announced today that it is selling its non-core French builders'
merchant, Dubois Materiaux, to Point.P, which is part of Saint-Gobain Building
Distribution. Point.P will pay a total consideration of approximately Euro 100
million. Completion is subject to clearance by the French competition
authority, which is expected in autumn 2003. The sale proceeds will be used to
reduce Kingfisher's debt. The impact of the transaction is expected to be
earnings neutral but will give rise to an exceptional accounting loss on
disposal of around £25 million.
Dubois Materiaux was founded in 1951 by the Dubois family and operates 14 sites
across France. In the financial year ended 1 February 2003, Kingfisher
consolidated sales of £156 million and post tax profits of around £2 million for
Dubois Materiaux.
Kingfisher Chief Executive Officer Gerry Murphy said: 'The disposal of this
specialist builders' merchant business is consistent with Kingfisher's new focus
on large-scale, mass merchandise home improvement retailing through our B&Q,
Castorama and Brico Depot brands.'
Enquiries Telephone No
Kingfisher plc
Ian Harding +44 (0) 20 7644 1029
Loraine Woodhouse +44 (0) 20 7644 1032
Notes to Editors
1. Kingfisher is Europe's leading home improvement retailer. With more
than 600 stores across Europe and Asia, Kingfisher is the world's most
international home improvement retailer, enjoying market leading positions in
the UK, France, Poland and Taiwan. Sales for the year to 1 February 2003 were
over £6.7 billion, with retail profit of more than £534 million.
2. Saint-Gobain Building Distribution is the leading European distributor
of building materials. Its main brands are Point.P, Lapeyre, La Plateforme du
Batiment, Jewson and Raab Karcher. Point.P is the leading building materials
distributor in France.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange QU
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