The Musketeers to the rescue of Casino. At the end of the exclusive negotiations started on April 24 with the distributor in difficulty, the independent group, owner of Intermarché and Netto, has revised upwards the number of stores that it could take over from the Saint-Etienne distributor, to 180. It has also undertaken to invest 100 million euros in equity in the Casino group, as part of its future funding round.
The Saint-Etienne distributor entered into conciliation on Friday to renegotiate part of its heavy debt (6.4 billion euros). Casino has obtained the agreement of its creditors so that this conciliation is not considered as a default. The Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky proposed to him on April 24 to carry out a capital increase of 1.1 billion euros, to which he himself would contribute up to 750 million euros. But he posed as a sine qua non that Casino obtains “a very substantial reduction in its unsecured debt” of 3.6 billion euros.
Les Mousquetaires, initially associated with the alliance project with the Casino group initiated by Teract (controlled by the InVivo cooperative), are contributing their stone to the building. They will contribute to the round table of the Saint-Etienne distributor to the tune of 100 million euros. But while Teract initially wanted to invest 500 million euros in a structure detached from the Casino group which would only include the perimeter of the French stores, the Mousquetaires will finally invest at the level of the Casino group, at the same level as Daniel Kretinsky. They will thus become minority shareholders of the group.
According to our information, the Musketeers do not intend to invest more than the 100 million euros on which they have just committed via the Teract project. But this one is not abandoned by the Musketeers. “The Teract project is always of interest for commercial synergy”, explains Thierry Cotillard. Teract aims to achieve vertical consolidation in the sector, supplying Casino Group stores with products grown by InVivo farmers. With these 52 agro-food factories, the Mousquetaires are a link in this chain “from farm to fork”. The founders of Teract, Moez-Alexandre Zouari, Matthieu Pigasse and Xavier Niel, also plan to invest at the level of the Casino group. The 500 million euros of investment initially mentioned should be revised upwards.
Les Mousquetaires will also take over more Casino stores than initially planned. They thus secure the stores that they wish to take over from the group, as it enters into conciliation. On the Casino side, it’s as much more fresh money, and less sources of losses.
The agreement signed with the group provides that Intermarché will take over 120 to 180, specifies the independent group. Information that Casino does not confirm. This would essentially be hypermarkets and supermarkets located in non-priority areas for Casino, but also Franprix convenience stores. The agreement provides for two waves of disposals, and a third optional at the request of the Casino group. The first wave of disposals, including stores with a total turnover of 600 million euros, will be completed by the end of the year. The second (550 million euros in turnover) within three years. The third represents 500 million in turnover. To meet the need for fresh money from the Saint-Etienne distributor, the Musketeers will immediately pay a deposit of 190 million euros which will be deducted from the final price of the assets.