The deal is intended to prevent the retail chain from going bankrupt. Trading in Casino shares, which was suspended for one day on Wednesday at the company’s request, will resume today. The restructuring is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Casino has been on the brink of insolvency after years of trading on debt and recent market share losses to rival supermarket groups.
Its restructuring was made possible by a takeover offer from Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, Frenchman Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière and the British fund Attestor.
The agreement assumes that these takeover candidates will invest 1.2 billion euros (CZK 29 billion) in the company, that Casino’s debt will be reduced by almost five billion euros, and that its Latin American assets will be sold.
Sixth largest in France
The deal would end the 30-year reign of Casino’s 74-year-old CEO and majority shareholder Jean-Charles Naouri, Reuters reported. Ten Casino is controlled through its publicly traded holding company Rallye.
“Casino reached a significant milestone in the financial restructuring process when it received the approval of its main creditors for a financial restructuring plan that creates a favorable framework for the sustainability of the group’s activities, the preservation of jobs and headquarters and the further development of all its brands,” Naouri said in a statement.
Casino is the sixth largest retailer in France. It has 200,000 employees worldwide, with 50,000 people working for it in France alone. At the end of 2022, it owed 6.4 billion euros (156 billion crowns).
Křetínský belongs to the most influential figures in Czech business. It controls a number of industrial, commercial, financial or media companies in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Kellnerová remains the richest in the Czech Republic, Křetínský is catching up with her
2023-10-05 06:36:34
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