A consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has secured approval from EU antitrust authorities to acquire control of the debt-laden French supermarket operator, Casino (CASP.PA), as announced by the company on Monday.
The restructuring deal, marking the end of the 30-year leadership of 74-year-old Jean-Charles Naouri, who controls Casino through his listed holding company Rallye (GENC.PA), will result in significant dilution for existing shareholders.
Under the agreement, Kretinsky’s consortium will hold and manage 53.7% of Casino’s share capital. The deal involves an injection of 1.2 billion euros of new capital into Casino and a reduction of Casino’s debt by 6.1 billion euros.
The implementation of the plan is subject to additional regulatory approvals, including clearance from the French finance ministry under foreign investment rules and a waiver from the stock market regulator to avoid initiating formal public takeover proceedings.
In a separate development, Casino disclosed on December 18 that it was in exclusive talks to sell all of its major stores in France, comprising 313 hypermarkets and supermarkets, to retailers Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail. Expressing concerns about the potential dismantling of Casino as the stores are sold, trade unions announced on Monday that a new strike notice would be issued, effective from January 9 to February 5.
As Casino shareholders and creditors have until January 11 to approve the accelerated protection procedure initiated by Casino in October 2023 to facilitate the debt restructuring deal, trade unions’ move coincides with a critical period in the ongoing process. The protection procedure, initially set to conclude by December, has been extended by two months to February 25.
