French food retailer Casino said it has sold 10.15% of its remaining stake in renewable energy unit GreenYellow for €46 million to investment fund Ardian and French state-backed investment bank Bpifrance.
In July 2022, Casino and partners agreed to sell a majority stake in GreenYellow to Ardian, based on an enterprise value of €1.4 billion.
At the time, Casino owned 76% of GreenYellow, which installs solar panels on supermarket roofs, produces low-cost electricity and helps lower companies' power consumption.
Sale Of Assets
Casino has sold a string of assets – including its supermarkets – to shore up its balance sheet.
The firm said in March it had completed its financial restructuring under a leadership team formed around Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
First Quarter Performance
In April, Casino said that its first-quarter sales remained negative but showed a slight improvement after its convenience brands reported virtually stable net sales.
On a same-store basis and excluding acquisitions, currency effects and revenue on fuel, sales fell by 3.8% compared with a 4.6% decline in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The French company, which reported first-quarter net sales of €2.1 billion, said it would lay off up to 3,267 employees in a bid to improve its financial situation as it aims to become France's leading convenience store retailer.
In a separate statement, Casino said it will implement a reverse share split of its share capital through the exchange of 100 existing shares for each new share.
The company's net debt at end of March 2024 was €1.6 billion, compared with €6.2 billion at the end of December 2023.
Additional reporting by ESM
