Casino announced Friday that it has sold the French scope of its Leader Price discount brand to the German Aldi, with whom he had been in exclusive negotiations since the fall, for 735 million euros (774.7 million francs).
This sale price includes an additional price of 35 million euros, “paid in the event of compliance with operational indicators during a transition period,” said Casino in its press release.
The Stéphanois distributor, who has been negotiating with his German counterpart since mid-September, claims to have signed with Aldi France “a unilateral promise to purchase with a view to the sale of three warehouses and 567 stores of the Leader Price perimeter in mainland France”, where they will develop under the Aldi brand.
On the other hand, Casino will remain the owner of the Leader Price brand “to continue to operate it under certain conditions agreed with Aldi, in France and abroad”.
At 9.20 am on the Paris Stock Exchange, the Casino action took almost 4% to 35 euros, in a market up 6.17%.
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Casino, which has been looking for cash for several months to pay off its heavy debt, announced on September 19 that it had entered into “exclusive negotiations” with the German group, while the discount sector is changing rapidly in France.
“The completion of this sale will occur after consultation with employee representative bodies and subject to obtaining authorization from the Competition Authority,” said the press release.
In mid-January, Casino announced a 2019 turnover down 5.46% to 34.6 billion euros, due to the exit of the accounts of Leader Price, currently being sold to the German Aldi precisely .
He then announced that he was revising downwards, from 10% to 5%, his forecast for estimating the growth in current operating profit (ROC), the flagship indicator in distribution.
The group, led by Jean-Charles Naouri and whose parent company, Rallye, has just been validated by its justice plan, must publish its annual results Thursday before the opening of the stock market. (ats / nxp)
Created: 20.03.2020, 10h34
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