Groupe Casino has completed the sale of its 34.05% direct stake in Colombian subsidiary Éxito Group. Grupo Pão de Açucar (GPA), a Brazilian company controlled by Groupe Casino, also contributed its 13.31% stake in Éxito to the bids, the French retailer noted in a statement.
According to the European Supermarket News – ESM magazine, the initiative is part of tender offers launched in the United States and Colombia by the Calleja Group for the share capital of Almacenes Éxito S.A. The Calleja Group acquired 86.84% of the share capital of Éxito, the retailer added. As part of this transaction, Groupe Casino received gross proceeds of US$400 million (€367.9 million) and GPA received US$156 million (€143.5 million). Groupe Casino and GPA no longer own any equity interest in Éxito Group following this transaction, the company added.
FRENCH LARGE-FORMAT STORE DISPOSAL
The French retailer reached agreements with Auchan Retail and Intermarché parent company Groupement Les Mousquetaires on the sale of ‘almost all’ of its hypermarkets and supermarkets.
Casino added that these agreements provide for the sale of 288 stores (and the service stations attached to these stores), based on an enterprise value of between €1.3 billion and €1.35 billion ($1.42 billion to $1.47 billion).
Thierry Cotillard, president of Groupement Les Mousquetaires, and Yves Claude, chairperson and CEO of Auchan Retail, stated, “The relaunch of stores will make it possible to offer consumers modernized points of sale with quality products at more attractive prices, an action reinforced by the purchasing alliance currently being formed between our two companies.”
