Dufry, a Swiss-based travel retailer which operates duty-free and duty-paid shops and convenience stores in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations and central tourist areas, completed the acquisition of a stake in World Duty Free, an Italy-based multinational travel retailer, from Edizione, a European industrial holding company entirely controlled by the Benetton family, for CHF3.8bn. "The acquisition of WDF is a truly unique and highly transformational transaction for Dufry and is equally a milestone for the travel retail industry overall. The transaction further enhances our global position and with a market share of 24% in airport retail, we plan to drive our business to new levels in term of capturing global passenger flows, execution capabilities and efficiencies. WDF's business is highly complementary to our existing footprint and will reinforce our leading position in the Mediterranean, the Americas as well as the Middle East and Asia. At the same time, having access to one of the most diverse passenger flows in Heathrow, combining attractive emerging and developed market customer profiles, will allow us to leverage our existing expertise on all the customer groups and to further develop our global offering," Julian Diaz, Dufry CEO.