It is a position that will weigh on the future of the Casino. According to our information, the Fimalac company will give up its position on the group’s board of directors. It was not Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière himself who sat there for three years, but his managing director, Thomas Piquemal, known to have been EDF’s chief financial officer.
In any case, the businessman distanced himself from his old friend Jean-Charles Naouri, CEO of Casino. Fimalac leaves the board of directors to avoid any conflict of interest while two takeover projects are launched.
Daniel Kretinsky proposes a capital increase of 1,100 million euros to save Casino, which is crumbling under a debt of 6,000 million euros. And Teract proposes to merge its bakery and garden center brands (Jardiland, Boulangerie Louise, etc.) with the Casino, Monoprix and Franprix brands.
According to our information, Fimalac wishes to study the project of the Czech businessman. Daniel Kretinsky had also offered to accompany him to invest some 150 million euros in addition to the 750 million that he plans to inject.
Fimalac, firm support for Daniel Kretinsky
The departure of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière is a key event in the battle for the future of Casino. He was the first to help Jean-Charles Naouri finance the creation of his Euris group in the early 1990s, thanks to financial deals around the Industrial Mutual Bank (BMI). He had come to his rescue again in 2019 by investing 230 million euros to help Rallye, Jean-Charles Naouri’s personal company, repay financial products with Société Générale.
The Casino CEO had turned his coat around by joining forces with Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière while negotiating an alliance with…Daniel Kretinsky. The Fimalac boss then became a 9% shareholder in Rallye and then took 2.5% of Casino by becoming a director to support his friend. At that time, the price of the group’s shares was 23 euros, while today it is trading at 6.6 euros…
Fimalac is a great support for Daniel Kretinsky and tips the balance in favor of his project. However, during the last three months, Casino has privileged its negotiations with Teract, led by Moez Zouari. It is also a sign that Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière is no longer following the CEO of Casino, while a conciliation should be opened in the coming weeks.
Source: BFM TV
