On Monday February 26, the Paris commercial court validated the rescue plan for the struggling distributor Casino. This had been the subject of unfavorable opinions from employee representatives and the public prosecutor but had no alternative.
This decision paves the way for the takeover of the distributor by billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, backed by the Attestor investment fund, by March/April.
It is this “consortium” of buyers which allows the rescue of a group adrift, by providing a large part (925 million euros) of the new money (1.2 billion euros) intended to be used to meet deadlines and relaunch activity, in exchange for a very significant reduction in debt.
The “lacunar” social aspect
If the accelerated safeguard plan, fiercely negotiated for many months by Casino’s management with its creditors and the candidates for its takeover, had not been adopted, Casino would have been in “a catastrophic economic situation”, recalled the judge. commissioner on February 12, during a public hearing concerning the distributor’s safeguard plan.
Despite the absence of an alternative, the Central Social Economic Committee (CSEC) and its lawyers issued an unfavorable opinion on this rescue plan, regretting the inadequacy of its social component.
The public prosecutor also issued an unfavorable opinion on the safeguard plan, regretting in particular “too great a disparity between the plan presented initially” and the one on which the court must rule, as well as “the completely incomplete content of the social aspect”.
Once the rescue plan has been approved by the court, the various capital increases must take place in March and a general meeting of new shareholders must immediately decide on the new composition of the board of directors.
As for the stores sold, they will be done in three successive waves, on April 30, May 31 and July 1.
