PARIS (Reuters) – Heavily indebted French supermarket group Casino is preparing to sell more supermarkets to Intermarche, a unit of Groupement Les Mousquetaires, or even put its remaining stores for sale to the highest bidder, daily Les Echos said in its Monday edition.
Casino already received expressions of interest for its remaining 291 supermarkets, including 60 franchises, and 52 large-scale hypermarkets, the daily said.
France’s sixth-largest retailer has been building back its business after an October deal to avert bankruptcy through a debt restructuring led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
The group is facing the consequences of years of debt-fuelled deals that, following recent loss in market share and revenue decline, have put it on the verge of bankruptcy.
It warned last week of likely 2023 losses for its core French business due to a slower-than-expected turnaround at its hypermarkets division.
Candidates for a takeover must submit their offer by Wednesday, Les Echos said.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Claude Chendjou; Editing by David Gregorio)