Casino to sell stores to French rivals for 1.35 billion euros

CASINO Guichard Perrachon plans to sell hypermarkets and supermarkets valued at 1.35 billion euros (S$1.96 billion) to Intermarche and Auchan Retail in a bid to raise cash as the French operator of grocery stores undergoes a debt restructuring. 

Casino is in exclusive talks with Groupement Les Mousquetaires – which holds the Intermarche brand – and Auchan with a view to sell all of its hypermarkets and supermarkets, according to a statement on Monday (Dec 18). The transaction includes 313 stores, which generated total sales of 3.6 billion euros in 2022. 

Shares of Casino rose as much as 8.6 per cent on Tuesday and then slumped as much as 11 per cent. They have lost more than 90 per cent of their value this year.

The sale of the hypermarkets and supermarkets is key for Casino to avoid collapse, its soon-to-be-shareholders said in a meeting with unions this month. 

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, alongside other investors including Fimalac and former creditor Attestor, took over the retailer this year via a deal envisaging a 1.2 billion euro equity injection for the struggling group as well as the conversion of all its unsecured debt and part of its secured debt into equity. 

All employees of the stores would be taken over by the new owners. Certain real estate assets could also be included in the deal. 

Casino said in November that it had received interest for those assets from several competitors. 

Even with a restructuring under way, the company still needs to address its operational issues. Casino slashed its guidance twice over the last two months due to a slower-than-expected turnaround for its French business. 

In a business update released at the end of November, Casino said that it expected the hypermarkets and supermarkets business to turn profitable in 2026. 

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A new meeting between Casino’s management, the investor group and the workers’ union is scheduled for Tuesday to update them on the situation, including on details of the hypermarkets and supermarkets transaction. 

Casino already announced the sale of another 119 stores to Intermarche in the first half of 2023. BLOOMBERG