Groupe Casino has announced the disposal of its remaining stake in Mercialys.
The group announced that it has disposed of the final 10.3% stake it held in the Mercialys property unit through a new total return swap (TRS).
This follows on from the disposal of 6.5% of Mercialys equity through a separate TRS in February 2022, which has now been settled.
'Following this transaction, Casino Group no longer holds any voting rights in Mercialys,' the group said in a statement.
Proceeds of the transaction amounted to €87 million.
Casino first announced plans to sell its stake in the property unit back in 2018, as part of its broader asset disposal plan. Mercialys was founded in 2005.
'Double Down' On Strong Formats
Casino recently announced plans to focus in on its 'most buoyant formats' – premium, convenience and e-commerce – as it reported full-year sales that were 5.6% lower in its core home market of France.
The group said that its French operations, particularly in Paris and southeast France, were 'particularly hard hit' by the pandemic, with most of its banners seeing declines as the year drew to a close.
At group level, sales were down 0.8% year-on-year, with Latin America and its CDiscount online channel both up.
Elsewhere, Groupe Casino recently announced a service alongside messaging app WhatsApp, which enabled French shoppers that are part of its Le Club Leader Price membership programs to place shopping orders via the platform.
In a statement, the retailer said that the partnership with Meta-owned WhatsApp ‘blends in fully with Casino Group’s digital transformation process’.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
