Sometimes, the course of M&A just won't run smooth. Take French electricals retailer Darty (DTY), which announced it would be taken over by rival company Fnac last September.
Since then, Darty has been busy running its day-to-day business, hoping its agreed deal would go through and deliver value for shareholders. That was disrupted in March when Conforama, a member of the South African retail group Steinhoff, approached the Darty board with a rival offer and, in turn, sent the share price up another 9 per cent. This move was in spite of the fact Steinhoff was busy involving itself in a separate love triangle with grocer J Sainsbury (SBRY) and Argos owner Home Retail (HOME).
The battle for Darty shows what's good about being invested in a contested M&A target - if shareholders are willing to sit tight they can watch their holding appreciate in value with minimal effort. The latest goings on mean Fnac has replied, increasing its initial offer in the hope of kicking Steinhoff to the curb once and for all*.
A 170p-a-share bid is Fnac's "third increased final offer" - its fifth bid in the takeover battle - which values Darty at around £900m.
*Updated, 27 April 2016: Steinhoff announced this morning that it would not go higher than its third offer of 160p a share.
