66 stores sold to competitors, after more than 200 in the spring

Store sales continue for Casino. The retailer announced on Tuesday, July 2, the sale of 66 large-format stores to the Les Mousquetaires group and Auchan Retail France. This new episode comes in line with an agreement that had already led the heavily indebted group to sell more than 200 hypermarkets and supermarkets to its competitors in the spring.

After 121 stores were sold at the end of April to Auchan, Les Mousquetaires and Carrefour, then 90 at the end of May to Auchan and Les Mousquetaires, Casino was to sell a total of 76 stores during this third wave, under agreements concluded with its various competitors on January 24 and February 8.

More “ten stores, for which the suspensive conditions have not yet been lifted in time, will be subject to a deferred sale”reports, in a press release, the Casino group, which passed into the hands of a consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky at the end of March.

In detail, Les Mousquetaires bought 35 supermarkets and 1 Spar, and Auchan Retail France 28 supermarkets and 2 drives, a transaction “carried out on the basis of an enterprise value of the stores sold of 213 million euros”specifies the Casino press release.

The distributor also specifies, “having transferred to the Les Mousquetaires group its controlling interest of 51% in five hypermarkets”In these points of sale, Les Mousquetaires already held a non-controlling stake of 49% since September 30, 2023.

The previous management of the Casino group, faced with heavy debt, had multiplied its disposals, including the sale of almost all of the large format stores, an activity which nevertheless constituted the historic heart of the Saint-Etienne distributor.

Casino reminds that its competitors “have undertaken to take over all employment contracts of employees assigned to the transferred stores and service stations” as well as “maintain, with respect to employees assigned to the stores, the provisions and benefits resulting from the Casino collective status for a minimum period of fifteen months from the date of completion of the transfer”.