Kingfisher
1982 Kingfisher was founded by the buyout of the British Woolworths chain (which already owned B&Q) by Paternoster Stores Ltd. which then changed its name to Woolworth Holdings plc.
The Company expanded through subsequent acquisitions of companies such as Comet (1984) and Superdrug (1987).
1989 It was renamed Kingfisher plc
Further acquisitions of European companies such as Castorama, BUT S.A. and Wegert enabled the Company to grow to become the largest general retail business in the UK.
In 1999, Kingfisher attempted a takeover of Asda, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, only to be beaten by Wal-Mart.
Coupled with an acrimonious battle for control of Castorama, the resultant share price pressure forced the sale and demerger of several parts of the Company by 2001, including Woolworths (forming the Woolworths Group), and the de-merger of the electricals business to form Kesa Electricals in 2003 – causing the Company to refocus entirely around DIY
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia