The French distribution group Casino announced on Friday that it had finalized the sale of 18.8% of the capital of its Brazilian brand Assaí, the maximum planned, for some 723 million euros.
The distributor had initially announced on Tuesday the sale of 174 million shares, or 12.9% of the capital, with an option of 80 million additional shares.
Friday, "
254 million Assaí shares held by the Casino group
" and "
representing 18.8% of the capital of Assaí, were allocated
", explains in a press release the group, which will hold at the end of the transaction 11.7 % of Assaí "
and therefore will no longer control the company
".
The operation aims to "
accelerate its deleveraging
", explained the distributor in a press release on Tuesday.
In November, the group had already sold, for approximately 500 million dollars, 10.4% of the capital of this specialist in wholesale sales for professionals and individuals listed in Sao Paulo and New York.
Casino only held 30.5% after the operation.
In 2022, the French distributor suffered a net loss of 316 million euros, down 40%, and recorded sales up 10% to 33.6 billion euros, mechanically inflated by soaring prices and the massive return of tourists.
If it reduced its net debt in France last year, it remains high, at 4.5 billion euros at the end of 2022.