Kingfisher sells its stakes in Hornbach

British major shareholder Kingfisher has sold its ordinary and preference shares it held in the German DIY-chain Hornbach. The Trust Company of the Hornbach owner family has paid € 100 million for 25% of the ordinary shares of the holding company, which are not listed, according to the ARD broadcasting corporation. In the night before 25 March, Kingfisher is said to have sold two more share packages for another € 135 million. The two partners had encroached on eachother’s territory in the past few months in Romania and other emerging markets.

An Austrian DIY-distributor which is in financial difficulty has been getting widespread attention recently: the Baumax group. On 24 March the company's founder Karlheinz Essl announced his intention to sell his art collection to the Republic of Austria in order to save about 4,000 Baumax-jobs in Austria.