“Casino has reached a major milestone in its financial restructuring process by obtaining the agreement of its main creditors on a financial restructuring plan,” CEO and controlling shareholder Jean-Charles Naouri said in a statement. Casino will formally change hands at the end of March next year. The deal massively dilutes shareholders and will bring to an end the 30-year reign of 74-year-old Naouri, who controls Casino through his listed holding company Rallye.
On Thursday Casino said the binding debt deal was reached with the consortium led by Kretinsky’s company EPGC alongside Casino’s biggest creditor Attestor, its second-biggest shareholder Fimalac and the retailer’s secured creditors. The retailer, which is now France’s sixth-largest supermarket group, said it planned to pursue discussions with the financial creditors not yet party to the lock-up agreement to get them to sign up to it too.
Naouri said the binding agreement “creates a favourable framework” for the long-term sustainability of Casino’s business, maintaining its workforce and head offices and continuing to develop its brands. A self-professed lover of France, Kretinsky is also in talks to become the biggest shareholder in French IT consulting firm Atos, developing a portfolio of assets in the country after a string of investments in Britain with soccer club West Ham, retailer Sainsbury’s, and Royal Mail.
Footfall in Casino supermarkets was up 4% over the past four weeks, the company said. Casino’s Chief Financial Officer David Lubek said price cuts were bringing more customers into the retailer’s stores. Thursday’s announcement finalises a July agreement in principle which called for 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion) of new money to be injected into Casino, as well as a reduction of Casino’s debt by 6. If you have any inquiries relating to where and how to use discuss, you can speak to us at our own site. 1 billion euros. 25 to obtain from a commercial court the start of an accelerated safeguard procedure under which it could approve the plan with the support of secured creditors and compel reluctant creditors to follow.
Casino reiterated it had until Oct.