The Casino Group, a French company, has revealed its intention to divest its Brazilian subsidiary, Grupo Pao de Açucar (GPA), and the Colombian company Éxito. This move is part of Casino’s efforts to reduce its considerable debt and ensure its economic sustainability. At the end of 2022, the group had a debt of €6.4 billion.
The sale of Casino’s 11.7% stake in Brazilian group Assai, announced last week, is part of these measures aimed at strengthening the group’s liquidity and establishing a sound capital structure. However, Casino has not provided a precise date for the sale of GPA and Éxito.
In 2022, Casino’s activities in Latin America generated revenues of approximately €17.8 billion, representing more than half of the group’s total revenues in that year. The company has almost 1,000 stores in Brazil, more than 2,100 in Colombia, 33 in Argentina, and 96 in Uruguay. Most of its 200,000 employees work in South America.
Casino has been struggling for years to reduce its debt and now hopes to cut it in half through a settlement process that could last until October 25. The company intends to convert at least all unsecured debts into equity, meaning that creditors will become shareholders in the group instead of getting their money back.
Several interested parties, including Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who controls 10% of Casino’s shares, have submitted proposals to take control of the group. Kretinsky has offered to provide €750 million in a capital increase, while another group of French businessmen has also submitted an offer that would allow creditors to reinvest in capital.
In addition to these measures, Casino plans to raise €900 million in equity to support its strategy for the 2023–2025 period. It has also obtained a deferral of €300 million in social and tax contributions from the French State and has asked creditors to suspend interest payments and debt maturities until October.
Following the announcement of these measures, the shares of Casino and its parent company, Rallye, experienced a fall on the Paris stock exchange.