Rome airports' duty free goes French

Rome airports company Aeroporti di Roma (AdR) on Friday completed a deal to sell 100% of its stake in AdR Retail, the company that manages its duty-free services, to LS Travel Retail. The buyer, a subsidiary of France's Lagardere Services Group, acquired the business for 229.4 million euros. The French company was chosen from among several top international duty-free operators participating in the selection process for its long-term investment plan. It will operate eight duty free shops at Rome's two big airports, Fiumicino and Ciampino, under a contract running until 2026. The duty-free business at the two airports generated around 61 million euros in the first eight months of 2012.