The future of the Casino group, a distributor with more than a century of history from Saint-Etienne, will be decided this Monday in the commercial court of Paris. The latter should study and likely approve an accelerated plan to protect the group, which is mired in debt with the arrival of new shareholders and a significant reduction in the number of stores.
This plan calls for deep restructuring. By March-April it should come under the control of billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladre de Lacharriere with the support of the Attestor investment fund. This consortium must provide almost a billion euros (925 million euros) to meet upcoming deadlines and resume activities.
Employees slam ‘opacity surrounding’ safeguard plan
In exchange for this massive debt reduction, buyers will take over the reins of the casino. Current shareholders, starting with CEO Jean-Charles Naoury, who will be largely diluted in a few weeks.
In mid-January, these shareholders largely supported the plan, as did creditors, the largest of which had already given their consent in principle in the summer of 2023. small selection. They said it was “the only solution that could make the group viable,” as one of the court administrators at his bedside, Aurelia Perdero, recalled.
On the other hand, the employees were more dubious. On January 31, Casino France’s central social and economic committee unanimously issued an “unfavorable opinion” on the group’s accelerated defense plan, in protest at the “opacity that surrounded” its development, explained Nathalie Becom, a representative of the Casino France inter-union. (FO, CGT, CFDT, UNSA, CFE-CGC). But there is no talk of filing an appeal. The aim is to prevent the company from being forced into liquidation with more uncertain consequences. In a press release, the inter-union organization regretted that the plan did not include “any social component”, while it included “the sale of half of the activity and adjustments to the head office workforce and distribution.” chain. “supply”.
The casino must unload a large number of stores
In France, in 2024, 288 large stores, super and hypermarkets will pass into the hands of Intermarché, Auchan and Carrefour. Thus, the transfer of the stores will affect more than 12,800 people out of the 50,000 that were still owned by the Casino group. in France at the end of 2022 under various brands (including Monoprix and Franprix). Employee representatives fear between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs could be cut in support, administrative or logistics functions as a result of the sharp reduction in store numbers. The employees planned to travel to Paris for a hearing in commercial court.
This plan, barring any surprises, must be approved by the court, especially since the group received permission from the European Commission under foreign subsidy rules. If this is the case, then the accelerated backup period for Casino and its subsidiaries should end on February 25th. Various capital increases should then take place in March and the general meeting of new shareholders should immediately decide on the new composition of the board of directors.
Source: Le Parisien
I am John Casanova. I am an author at 24 news recorder and mostly cover economy news. I have a great interest in the stock market and have been writing about it for many years. I am also interested in real estate and have written several articles on the subject. I am a very experienced investor and have a lot of knowledge to share with others.
