Slaughter and May is advising Dufry on its acquisition of World Duty Free

Slaughter and May, working as a team with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners and Homburger AG, is advising Dufry, a leading global travel retailer, in relation to Dufry’s agreement with Edizione S.r.l. (Edizione) to acquire the 50.1% stake in World Duty Free S.p.A (WDF) owned by Edizione for EUR 10.25 per WDF share in cash, equivalent to a total cash consideration of EUR 1.307 billion. 

Following completion of the transaction with Edizione, Dufry will launch a mandatory tender offer for the remaining 49.9% of outstanding WDF shares in accordance with Italian law at the same price of EUR 10.25 per share.

WDF, the holding company of World Duty Free Group, is one of the world’s leading travel retailers. Dufry intends initially to finance the acquisition of WDF (and the refinancing of WDF's debt) through a fully committed EUR 3.6 billion debt facility, which is expected to be refinanced via a rights issue and long-term debt instruments.

The Slaughter and May team is led by financing partner Matthew Tobin who is supported by associates Andrew Williams, Christel Kayibi and Matthew Podger. The team also includes competition partner Claire Jeffs, who is supported by associates Isabel Nicholson and Naomi Burgoyne, corporate partner William Underhill, who is supported by associate Yvonne Lee, and tax partner Mike Lane, who is supported by visiting lawyer Steffen Hoerner.

The Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz team is led by partners Gordon Moodie and Gregory Pessin who are supported by associates John Robinson and Neil Snyder.

The Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners team is led by partners Francesco Gianni, Andrea Aiello and Giuseppe De Simone who are supported by associates Francesco Fortuna and Claudia Lami.

The Homburger AG team is led by partners Frank Gerhard and Jürg Frick who are supported by associates Micha Fankhauser and Valentin Jentsch.