Casino Guichard-Perrachon Announces Sale of Stores for Billions

Casino Guichard-Perrachon, the troubled French supermarkets owner, has finalized agreements to sell a significant portion of its hypermarkets and supermarkets. The deals amount to a staggering 1.3 billion to 1.35 billion euros ($1.41 billion-$1.47 billion). Groupement Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail France are set to acquire these stores following exclusive negotiations with Casino.

The agreements encompass a total of 288 stores and their associated service stations. However, the disposals are subject to consultations with employee representative bodies and are expected to be completed in the second quarter.

In a separate development, Carrefour has also entered into exclusive negotiations with Groupe Intermarche, aiming to acquire 31 stores, including 26 that are presently owned by Casino. While the value of this deal remains undisclosed, Carrefour has stated that it will not have a significant impact on their overall business.

Casino has been battling sky-high debt and a declining market share in its domestic market for several months. To address these challenges, the company engaged in talks with creditors last year to secure the necessary liquidity for its operations.

In October, Casino struck a special agreement with a consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, alongside banks and other creditors. This agreement resulted in an injection of equity and a substantial reduction of its debt by approximately EUR6.1 billion.