Jean-Charles Naouri will not change his character at 73 years of age. After thirty years of complex financial operations, he is preparing a new coup of “baroque” air. The CEO of Casino formalized ten days ago the opening of “exploratory” talks with Teract, the company owned by the InVivo cooperative. He is in the process of consolidating his brands in France, Monoprix, Franprix and Naturalia into a single entity. And he plans to merge it with Teract’s Jardiland and Gamm Vert, run by his biggest franchisee, Moez-Alexandre Zouari. Given the respective weight of the two groups, Casino would be the majority player in this new large distributor in France.
But their talks become more complex as they plan to create a second joint venture. An organic purchasing center, from the InVivo cooperative that Teract oversees, would supply Monoprix and Franprix. Casino would this time be a minority shareholder. “It could also go public to maximize turnover value thanks to Monoprix and Franprix,” explains a source familiar with the matter. Negotiations could be completed for the publication of Casino’s annual accounts on February 28.
debt transfer
For Jean-Charles Naouri, this scheme is above all financial, Alpha Value analysts do not see “any commercial synergy” in it. It would allow him to deliver a double whammy. First, you would directly value your Monoprix and Franprix nuggets on the stock market. Now they are “drown” in Casino, crumbling below 6,000 million debt and with a value of only 1,200 million euros on the stock market. So, Casino could be deleveraged… Facially anyway.
According to several sources close to the negotiations, part of the group’s debt would be transferred to the new joint venture between Casino France and Teract. According to Bryan Garnier, 2,300 million debt could thus “land” in this new entity. The balance of 3,600 million euros would remain in the Casino. “We deleveraged Casino to put Casino France in debt,” sums up a source close to the group. Contacted, the management recalls that the discussions have just begun and that it was not necessary to “draw hasty conclusions”. But don’t deny anything…
Manage the casino as a financial asset
By accepting a “big package” of Casino debt, Teract will negotiate for a larger equity stake in the new company. While his weight should only give him around 10%, analysts at Bryan Garnier believe Teract could hold as much as 35% of the equity to Casino’s 65%. This company would then be listed on the stock exchange and could receive up to 25% minority shareholders to ensure that Casino remained the main shareholder with around 40% of the capital. These financial balances are at the center of the discussions between Jean-Charles Naouri and Moez-Alexandre Zaouri.
If you are successful, you will spin Casino smoothly. “We need an orderly restructuring” a group banker recently confided to us. Its creditors are also encouraging this refocus in France, as BFM Business had revealed. The core of the reactor of the empire of Jean-Charles Naouri would be this new company created with Teract. Casino would become a sort of “industrial holding” with “shareholdings in France, Latin America and CDiscount,” says a person who knows the subject well. “And why not?” A person close to the group wants to ask himself, recalling that “Casino has begun to simplify its organization in South America and now in France.”
Zouari in an ambush
Will CEO Jean-Charles Naouri run the Casino as a company with financial interests to liquidate? Especially since it will have to settle its debts within all its companies by 2025. In particular at Rallye, which controls Casino, and must repay 1.9 billion euros in 2025. Paradoxically, the CEO of Casino further complicates his already very opaque empire. This operation would lead to the creation of a “sixth floor” (Euris, Finatis, Foncière Euris, Rallye, Casino) of his galaxy which, however, he had promised to simplify…
On the contrary, this alliance would allow Moez-Alexandre Zouari to fully enter the empire of Jean-Charles Naouri. He would participate in the more dynamic activities of Monoprix and Franprix, without exposing himself to the heavy debt of Casino. “This solution will be a transition that will not last long,” explains one of his relatives. The two joint ventures could one day merge to get a better stock market valuation and give Jean-Charles Naouri the ability to reduce his debt. Opposite, Moez-Alexandre Zouari “necessarily negotiates options to repurchase his shares in the event of a change in control of Casino,” says a close friend of the group. The opportunity for him to win the bet, under the nose and beard of the great rival Carrefour.
Source: BFM TV
