This is not a surprise, but a new step in the Casino’s file. Jean-Charles Naouri’s group announced this Thursday that it had signed a “lock-up” agreement regarding its financial restructuring with “its main creditors.” He specifies that at the moment he has not obtained “the support” of other “unsecured” creditors, but assures that he “intends to continue talks” with the latter and that all creditors can join “before October 11.”
“A big step”
The signatories of this agreement are Daniel Kretinsky, Fimalac and the Attestor Fund, who are united in what has been called the “consortium” and who are working on the acquisition of the distributor. In a statement, Jean-Charles Naouri is pleased to have taken “an important step in its financial restructuring process”, considering that this agreement “creates a favorable framework for the sustainability of the group’s activities, the maintenance of employment and headquarters and the continuous development of all its brands.”
A way to calm down even more, while some actors close to the files explain that the buyer of Casino is negotiating the possibility of being able to resell other hypermarkets that are suffering (in addition to those already sold to the Mousquetaires/Intermarché group), to concentrate on Monoprix and at Franprix.
The group recalls this Thursday that the agreement with the creditors foresees that the “consortium” inject 1,200 million euros of new money, that Casino’s debt (6,200 million euros at the end of 2022) will be reduced by almost 5,000 million euros and than Casino’s activities in Latin America, where three quarters of the group’s approximately 200,000 employees work.
Future governance
In a document published on its website, the Casino group specifies the main conditions precedent to this lock-up agreement, but also “the commitments” of its management. In particular, it undertook not to make a “sale within the French distribution scope (beyond certain thresholds) and/or Cnova, Cdiscount”, “without the prior agreement of the consortium”.
Furthermore, in this document, Casino confirms the future governance plan. In particular, the consortium is expected to propose “the appointment of Philippe Palazzi as CEO.” Great connoisseur of the distribution sector, this fifty-year-old spent a quarter of a century in the German Metro and most recently was general director of Lactalis, together with Emmanuel Besnier.
Therefore, the door remains open for all creditors to sign the agreement next Wednesday. The Casino group also foresees in its statement that “the opening of accelerated safeguard procedures against the companies Casino, Guichard-Perrachon, Casino Finance, Distribution Casino France, Casino Participations France, Quatrim, Monoprix and Ségisor” will take place on October 25.
Source: BFM TV
