Křetínský set to win battle for Casino after rivals drop out

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Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský is poised to win the battle for control of Casino after a trio of investors led by billionaire Xavier Niel dropped out of the running to bail out the heavily-indebted French food retailer. 

Křetínský said in an interview with the Financial Times that he had submitted a revised offer on Saturday to Casino as part of the company’s voluntary debt restructuring negotiation with creditors. In it, he and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière’s Fimalac would lead a €1.2bn equity injection to take a 53 per cent stake in the company. On top of that, €4.9bn of Casino’s debt would be converted into equity. 

The trio dubbed 3F, including Niel, investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and retail entrepreneur Moez-Alexandre Zouari, had also been working on a new offer but decided to abandon it late on Sunday, blaming Casino for running “a biased process” and singling out investment fund Attestor for switching sides to Křetínský’s bid.

“Today, after months of work, 3F has decided not to submit an offer,” they said in a statement.

Casino, France’s sixth-biggest food retailer with 53,000 employees in the country, has been controlled for decades by Jean-Charles Naouri, who built it up but has saddled it with €6.4bn in debt that rating agencies doubt it can repay.

The company, which has been burning through cash while losing market share to rivals, has been in a voluntary debt restructuring negotiation with creditors aimed at saving the company from bankruptcy. The process, which started in May, is being overseen by a court-appointed agent and closely watched by the French finance ministry. Casino shares have fallen more than 75 per cent in the past year.

In an interview before the trio announced they would pull out, Křetínský argued his offer was the best one for the company and its creditors. He called on creditors to be “realistic” and that “a business plan that is based on hopes or imagined hopes will not succeed”. 

Křetínský also proposed that Naouri stay on in a “respectable” role once he takes control of the indebted French grocer, which he vowed to keep together to the “maximum possible” extent.

“Our desire is to make the greatest effort possible to preserve the maximum possible, rational perimeter of Casino,” the Czech billionaire said, in an effort to quell fears that the retail chain could be sold off in parts. 

Křetínský said no agreements to sell stores to rivals were in place and that he would work to preserve and eventually create jobs as part of a turnaround focused on Casino’s extensive network of small urban stores. However, “if the reaction of customers, for example to the hypermarket format, is really very negative, with a continuing negative trend, you have to respect reality”.

Křetínský said if he took control he would want to take advantage of Naouri’s “very deep knowledge”, although “it can’t be an executive role because that no longer makes sense. But I want it to be a respectable role.”