The Paris commercial court validates Casino’s accelerated safeguard plan

The Paris commercial court validated on Monday February 26 the safeguard plan for the Casino brand, which has accumulated several billion euros in debt, franceinfo learned. Casino will therefore be able to change shareholders as planned. Without this green light, it would be compulsory liquidation for Casino and its 50,000 employees.

Casino will now be controlled by a consortium formed by the Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky (present at Editis or Fnac Darty) and by the Frenchman Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière. The duo is also supported by a British investment fund. They are going to put 1.2 billion euros of new money on the table. This is’“a very important step, Casino is saved but not without consequences. We will have to reorganize the group and give it the means to take off again”, estimated the consortium. The current CEO, Jean-Charles Naouri, will lose control of the group in about a month.

6,000 jobs remain threatened

To replenish the coffers, Casino will also sell its hypermarkets and supermarkets to the competition: 288 stores will be sold to Auchan and Intermarché. The operation is expected to bring in 1.3 billion euros. The transfers will take place gradually until this summer, in three waves, with a first wave scheduled for April 30. Around 16,000 employees will change brands. In the stores that will remain in the Casino group, activity will decrease and certain employees will have to leave. Unions estimate that up to 6,000 jobs are at risk.