Casino protection plan: shareholder vote expected by Friday

This Thursday, casino shareholders voted in favor of a plan to protect the group in the absence of current CEO and largest shareholder Jean-Charles Naoury. The voting results will be announced by Friday morning.

It is a “painful and delicate meeting for many” shareholders, Hélène Bourboulou, one of three court administrators present at the Maison de la Mutualité in Paris, said before the vote. Shareholders of the cash-strapped distribution group have been called to decide on the company’s defense plan agreed with its main creditors and its takeover candidates, billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, backed by British fund Attestor.

The result of the vote, expected by Friday morning before financial markets open, leaves little doubt that Jean-Charles Naoury, one of the architects of the rescue plan, is still the group’s main shareholder. According to another court administrator, Aurélie Perdero, this is “in support of the plan” proposed under the expedited protective procedure. She presented the protective measures plan as “the only solution that will help” the group find itself in dire financial straits.

“Where is Nauri? »

Shareholders present on Thursday expressed their dissatisfaction that the plan would see them diluted very significantly by the €1.2 billion capital increase provided for in the guarantee plan. They also asked buyers about the future of the group. “Where is Nauri? “exclaimed one of them.

For his part, press publisher and politician Nicolas Miguet, a small shareholder of the group, spoke out several times, declaring the support of “hundreds of shareholders.” Like Casino, it is under preliminary investigation on suspicion of stock price manipulation, “active and passive private corruption” and “insider trading committed in 2018 and 2019.” Both Casino and Nicolas Miguet dispute the alleged facts.

The casino’s development plan for the coming years was presented to shareholders at the podium by Philippe Palazzi, who is expected to become the group’s general manager once buyers take control by March-April. The takeover candidates, Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladre de Lacharrière, are themselves already major shareholders of Casino.

313 hypermarkets and supermarkets sold to Intermarché and Auchan

At the same time, according to a decision published this Thursday by the Competition Authority, the distribution group Intermarché will have to sell 3 of the 61 stores it bought from Casino in the fall of 2023 due to “the risk of hindering competition.” The two distribution groups announced an “enterprise value of 209 million euros, including service stations.” Independent retailers group Mousquetaires/Intermarché said the reopening of the three stores would be delayed due to “compliance issues that need to be resolved before they can be integrated.”

The competition authority indicates that “after carefully examining the takeover operation, it has authorized the takeover of the target stores, subject to the fulfillment of the obligations presented by Intermarché, including the sale of three stores.” The corresponding stores are located in Lons-le-Saunier (Jura), Ploire (Côtes-d’Armor) and Val-pre-le-Puy (Haute-Loire). “The transfers must include all elements necessary to maintain the viability of the operation and the integration of the staff who worked in the respective stores prior to their takeover by Intermarché. Therefore, these transfers do not mean the closure of stores, but a resumption with a change of brand,” it is provided. The casino plans to sell 313 hypermarkets and supermarkets to its competitors Intermarché and Auchan, which will fundamentally change the retail landscape in France.