French supermarket retailer Casino is poised to sell its Leader Price unit to its German low-cost competitor Aldi in a deal estimated at €400 million, French daily Les Echos reported on Thursday.
Casino said last month it was targeting the sale of €2 billion ($2.2 billion) worth of assets in addition to the €2.5 billion initially sought to reduce its debt burden. The retailer has mandated BNP Paribas to handle a possible deal, the newspaper added.
Casino declined to comment.
Shares in Casino were up 2.4% percent at 1300 GMT, outperforming the bluechip CAC 40 index (+0.56%).
Price War Among Supermarkets
Casino has been struggling in France, where a price war among supermarkets has dented retailers' profit margins.
Its parent company Rallye, also highly indebted, was placed under protection from creditors in May.
Earlier this month, Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky and Slovak partner Patrik Tkac bought a 4.63% stake in Casino in a show of support for CEO and controlling shareholder Jean-Charles Naouri.
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