Deals & Cases

Homburger advised Dufry AG in the Initial Public Offering of its Wholly-Owned Subsidiary, Hudson Ltd.

On February 5, 2018, the initial public offering of Dufry AG’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Hudson Ltd., closed. Dufry International AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dufry AG, sold 39,417,765 Hudson Class A common shares at a public offering price of USD 19.00 per share. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on February 1, 2018, under the ticker symbol “HUD”. Dufry International AG granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,912,664 Class A common shares.

The Hudson Group comprises Dufry’s North American duty-paid and duty-free business. The Hudson Group operates more than 980 stores across 88 different transportation terminals and destinations, including 24 of the 25 largest airports in the continental United States and Canada.

Dufry intends to retain majority ownership of Hudson Ltd. In connection with the IPO, Dufry and Hudson entered into a number of agreements, including a master relationship agreement governing the commercial relationship between members of the Hudson Group and the Dufry Group as well as various franchise, trademark license and license contribution agreements.

Homburger advised Dufry AG and Dufry International AG on the structuring, the relationship between members of the Dufry Group and the Hudson Group, licensing and franchising matters as well as any Swiss law aspects in this respect. The Homburger team was led by partner Frank Gerhard (Corporate / M&A) and included partner Gregor Bühler (IP / IT) as well as associates Andreas Müller (Corporate / M&A) and Luca Dal Molin (IP / IT).