World Duty Free sold

The Benetton family has sold its controlling stake in World Duty Free to Switzerland's Dufry. 

The Singaporean sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte, the Asian country’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte and the Qatar Investment Authority are each committing as much as 450m Swiss Francs (US$467m) to Dufry.

The deal creates the world’s largest travel retailer, with a market share of 25% and projected annual sales of US$9bn.

World Duty Free operates 495 stores in 98 airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick.  Based in Basel, Dufry has 1,650 shops in more than 60 countries with around 20,000 employees in a whole variety of tourist and travel locations.  Retail spending at airports is expected to rise in the years ahead, particularly in Asia where more than 350 new airports are set to be built.

“Europe is up for sale, and Qataris love a good sale,” said Manish Singh, Head of Investments at Crossbridge Capital in London. “Qatar has been buying a huge quantity of European assets in recent years as a hedge against its economy’s over-reliance on oil.  This latest move with Dufry is a step further in that direction.  For Singapore, it’s just a good business deal, as it’s a growth sector.  There will be more deals."  www.dufry.com

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