Dufry AG has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of The Nuance Group. This transformational operation confirms the group as the global leader in the airport retail industry, reaching a 15% worldwide market share and a combined presence in 63 countries. The strategic rationale centers on the highly complementary nature of the two portfolios, strengthening the group's positioning in key regions such as the Mediterranean, Asia, and North America. Specifically, the acquisition adds significant retail operations in strategic markets like Turkey, Malta, and mainland China, while reinforcing the group's leadership in the United States and Canada. The organization expects to generate approximately CHF 70 million in annual pre-tax cost synergies by 2016 through increased purchasing power and the integration of logistics and support functions. To fund the acquisition, the group has secured a financing package that includes CHF 1 billion in equity through a rights issue and CHF 550 million in new debt. This combination is expected to be robustly accretive to cash earnings per share starting in the 2015 financial year, creating substantial value for the group's global stakeholders.

THE NUANCE GROUP, which reported an EBITDA margin of LOGIN in 2013, is valued in this transaction at an EV/EBITDA multiple of LOGIN, representing a LOGIN discount to the 10.9x average currently observed in the Retail & Consumer sector.

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