French supermarket chain Casino sells a large number of stores after financial problems

Casino reports on Friday that it wants to sell a hundred hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores, which together account for a turnover of 1.15 billion euros (including VAT). They signed a letter of intent on this on Friday. There are two discs. With a first package of stores, which represent approximately 600 million euros, the company will have sold the first stores to Intermarché, France’s number three, by the end of this year.

The construction of the second group of shops with a turnover of 550 million euros is different. Casino undertakes to sell it at Intermarché’s request, within three years at the latest. This process can be accelerated by Casino itself, it still sounds. Les Mousquetaires, the parent company of Intermarché, would make an initial lump sum payment of EUR 100 million upon signature of these contracts. This sum is then deducted from the final amount, which is calculated at market value.

In addition, retail sales are still possible. Intermarché is committed to acquiring additional stores, representing a turnover of 500 million euros, if Casino asks the question. Casino can lift this option in a period of three years.

Financial chief David Lubek did not want to give any concrete details about how many stores are involved in the various parts of the deal. This concerns shops in regions that are ‘non-priority’ for Casino. The supermarket chain is strong in the region around Paris, and the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions further south.