Fnac Darty Remakes Its Board After EP Group Takes Control

Fnac Darty's board met on 13 November 2026 and combined the jobs of chairman and chief executive, appointing Enrique Martinez to both, after EP Group took control of the company. A release issued that afternoon in Ivry-sur-Seine says EP FR HOLDCo, a company controlled by EP Group, holds 69.3% of the share capital and of the theoretical voting rights.

Who holds the company now

The day before, Andrew Albanese reported in Publishing Perspectives that Daniel Křetínský, owner of Editis, had completed a takeover bid for Fnac Darty. That report calls Fnac Darty France's leading bookseller. It says the offer was first delivered in January, and that it was valued at more than 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion). It also says EP Group's stake, counting a 28.5% holding already in hand, is 69.3% of the capital and of the theoretical voting rights.

Martinez, in a statement that report carries, welcomed an outcome the board had recommended unanimously. "We look forward to embarking on the next chapter of Fnac Darty's history with our new controlling shareholder and to shaping the future of our Group together," he said.

Křetínský said, in the same report, that the group values Fnac Darty's "service-oriented omnichannel proposition, brand heritage and deep retail expertise," and its positions in France, Italy, Belgium and Portugal, with a growing presence in Spain and Switzerland. He said he was pleased with the outcome. "We believe in its long-term potential and are committed to supporting its continued development and look forward to working constructively with the management team led by Enrique Martinez and with all of the company's stakeholders to support Fnac Darty's future growth and reinforce its leadership position on a European scale," he said in that report.

Who left the board, and who joined

The 13 November release says the board met that day to fit the company's governance to the new shareholder. It records the resignations of Jacques Veyrat, Caroline Grégoire Sainte Marie, Laure Hauseux, Jean-Marc Janaillac, Stefano Meloni, Stefanie Meyer, Javier Santiso, Brigitte Taittinger-Jouyet and Daniela Weber-Rey as directors, and of Franck Maurin as the director representing employees. The board thanked them for their commitment, and for their part in the group's development, the release says.

The board co-opted Stéphanie Berlioz, Sandrine Doucen, Branislav Miškovič, Martin Plavec and Thomas Métivier. Those appointments go to the next ordinary general meeting for ratification, the release says.

The board now has nine members, the release says, four of them independent under the AFEP-MEDEF code, plus one director representing employees. It says the mix meets that code on independence and on gender: 50% independent directors, once employee directors are left out of the count, and 5 men and 3 women.

Martinez stays chief executive and becomes chairman as well. The release says the board judged that combination a fit for the new ownership, and a way to keep the strategy moving. Sandra Lagumina stays vice chair. Four independent directors remain. His pay for 2026, amount and structure, stays as the annual meeting set it on 27 May 2026, the release says.

The new board, as the release lists it: Martinez as chairman and chief executive; Lagumina as independent vice chair; Berlioz, Doucen and Olivier Duha as independent directors; Métivier, Miškovič and Plavec as directors representing EP Group; and Julien Ducreux as the director representing employees.

Committees, the listing, and the size of the group

The board replaced two committees with one, the release says: a committee on compensation, nominations, governance, and social and environmental responsibility, in place of the appointments and remuneration committee and the social and environmental responsibility committee. An audit committee and a strategy committee stay.

Lagumina chairs the audit committee, with Berlioz and Plavec. Duha chairs the new combined committee, with Doucen, Miškovič and Ducreux. Duha also chairs the strategy committee, with Martinez, Miškovič and Plavec, the release says.

"Following the success of EP Group's tender offer, a new governance structure will be put in place," Martinez said in the release. He thanked the outgoing directors, and Jacques Veyrat in particular, who had been chairman.

EP Group means to keep Fnac Darty listed on Euronext Paris, and to keep a financial communication policy of the kind listed companies use, the release says. The board and management will go on with an omnichannel model, faster growth in services, digital change, and sustainability commitments, it says.

The company describes itself, in that release, as a European retailer of consumer electronics, household appliances, and cultural and leisure goods. It is in 15 countries, mainly France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. It has nearly 30,000 employees and about 1,500 stores. In 2025 it recorded sales of more than 10 billion euros. A plan it calls Beyond everyday runs to 2030, the release says, and keeps the company on omnichannel retail, services and circularity.