Casino (CASP.PA), a French retail chain, has agreed with its principal creditors, led by Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire, to restructure its debt to avoid going out of business. After years of debt-fueled acquisitions and subsequent market share losses to competing grocery operators, Casino was forced to the brink of insolvency.
Casino said on Thursday that a formal debt settlement had been agreed with the group, which included the retailer’s secured creditors, its largest creditor, Attestor, its second-largest shareholder Fimalac, and Kretinsky’s firm EPGC.
By getting the consent of its principal creditors on a financial restructuring plan, Casino has achieved a significant milestone in its financial restructuring process, according to a statement from CEO and controlling shareholder Jean-Charles Naouri.
The transaction will terminate the 30-year rule of 74-year-old Naouri, who runs the Casino through his publicly traded holding firm Rallye (GENC.PA) and significantly dilute shareholders. The ownership of the Casino will legally shift at the end of March 2019.
With Thursday’s announcement, a July deal in principle that called for Casino to get 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion) in additional funding and a 6.1 billion euro debt reduction became official.
According to Naouri, the legally enforceable agreement “creates a favourable framework” for the long-term viability of Casino’s company, allowing it to keep its employees and headquarters while advancing its brands.
The value of Casino’s shares has fallen by 88% so far this year. The shares, whose trading was halted on Wednesday, started again on Thursday and were up 0.5% at 09:17 GMT. The retailer, now France’s sixth-largest grocery chain, declared that it intended to continue talks with the financial creditors who have not yet agreed to the lock-up agreement to persuade them to do so.
Casino emphasized that it had until October 25 to ask a commercial court to initiate an accelerated safeguard procedure, which would allow it to accept the plan with the backing of secured creditors and compel creditors who were hesitant to do so to do so.
According to Casino’s Chief Financial Officer David Lubek, price reductions are bringing in more customers to the retailer’s outlets. According to the firm, grocery traffic in Casino increased by 4% during the previous four weeks.
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