Casino has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Auchan Retail France and Rocca groups with a view to the sale of its Corsican subsidiary Codim 2, which employs 1,300 people and operates 18 points of sale, the distribution group announced on Friday in a press release.
“All activities, employees and support functions would be taken over and continued under the Auchan brand”, Casino’s northern competitor, indicates the group’s press release.
The other company mentioned is owned by Patrick Rocca, one of the main employers in Corsica.
Codim 2 achieved a turnover excluding taxes of 332 million euros in 2023 and operates 18 points of sale on the island including 9 supermarkets and 4 hypermarkets.
“This proposed sale will be submitted to the relevant staff representative bodies and to the competent competition authorities,” the press release specifies.
The announcement comes two days after the first general meeting of Casino version Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who took control at the end of March with Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière and the Attestor fund.
Casino has increased its disposals in an attempt to survive a debt that has become unsustainable, notably selling almost all of its large format French stores, the historic heart of its activity, to Intermarché, Auchan and Carrefour.
Among the hundred points of sale taken over from Casino by Auchan, many are located on the Mediterranean coast.
