Casino, the leading French retail group, has announced it has reached an agreement to sell 288 stores and assoicated service stations to peers Auchan and Les Mousquetaires for an enterprise value of around €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion)
Negotiations started last December with Casino aiming to sell almost all of its supermarkets and hypermarkets as part of a restructuring process.
The disposals will take place in the second quarter of 2024, with both Les Mousquetaires (the operator of the Intermarche banner) and Auchan committing to taking on all existing employees at the transferred stores.
Commenting on the deal, Les Mousquetaires chairman Thierry Cotillard and Auchan CEO Yves Claude said: “This operation sets a strategic direction for the French distribution sector and for our businesses. Relaunching the stores will allow us to offer more modern facilities to consumers with high quality products at more attractve prices, made possible by the purchasing alliance currently being created between our two companies”.
Les Mousquetaires is set to acquire 190 of the stores, and Auchan the remainder.
Source: Casino / Les Mousquetaires