(AFP / DAMIEN MEYER)
The distributor Casino, in the midst of restructuring, announced on Friday that it had received 400 million dollars (367 million euros) from the sale of its stake in the Éxito brand, present in Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina.
Casino and its Brazilian subsidiary Grupo Pão de Açucar (GPA) held 34.05% and 13.31% of Éxito respectively and sold their shares to the Salvadoran Grupo Calleja as part of a public takeover offer announced at the end of 2023, according to a press release.
The operation is part of the restructuring of Casino’s heavy debt. The agreement between its creditors and its buyers, concluded at the beginning of October, provides in particular for the sale of Casino’s activities in Latin America, for which three quarters of the group’s employees work.
“As part of this transaction, the Casino group received gross proceeds” of $400 million and GPA received $156 million, specifies the French group.
“The Casino group and GPA no longer have a stake in Éxito following this transaction,” the press release said.
“The sale of Exito also shows the seriousness in the implementation and execution of the announced plan,” someone close to the group told AFP.
In France, Casino has concluded an agreement to sell 288 supermarkets and hypermarkets to its competitors Auchan and Intermarché, who will resell around thirty to Carrefour.
The rescue plan should allow the takeover of the Casino group by billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, backed by the British fund Attestor.