The Casino group, in negotiations since December to sell a large part of its super and hypermarkets to its competitors Intermarché and Auchan, announced Wednesday to the inter-union that it plans to sell some 288 stores to these two brands, according to union sources.
It is in the process of selling 98, rather large, stores to Auchan, and 190 to Intermarché, which should then sell 26 to Carrefour, particularly in areas where acquisitions could pose competition problems.
The information was confirmed to AFP by a source familiar with the negotiations.
Negotiations, which began at the end of 2023, initially covered a total of 313 stores.
Within Casino, “
there remain 23 stores, including 7 hypermarkets, which have not been taken over and for which the future is uncertain because there will no longer be a structure such as DCF to manage them
,” notes a union representative.
DCF, or Distribution Casino France, is the entity in which the French super and hypermarkets of the group are grouped, which still had 50,000 employees in France at the end of 2022. Of these, more than 12,000 would be affected by a change of brand, the group had indicated.
Contacted by AFP, Casino communication did not confirm the information on the distribution of stores sold.
Also read: Why Jean-Charles Naouri is finally forced to “break into pieces” Casino
The suspended action
The action of the distributor of Saint-Etienne origin has been suspended since Wednesday morning, "
at the request of the company, pending the publication of a press release and until further notice
", indicated the stock market operator. Euronext on its website.
A central social and economic committee (CSEC) is to be held on Wednesday in Saint-Etienne and the list of stores taken over should be presented on this occasion.
Still controlled for a few months by its CEO and largest shareholder Jean-Charles Naouri, the group in the midst of restructuring its debt must change hands by March/April and come under the control of billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, backed by Attestor investment fund.
The probable resale of stores to Carrefour by Intermarché, revealed Tuesday by the economic daily
Les Échos
, had been neither confirmed nor denied by the companies concerned.