French retailer Casino, which recently agreed a long-awaited debt restructuring deal with creditors, said earlier this week that it got a waiver from creditors regarding its financial covenants for the end of June.
'The group clarifies that it has obtained a waiver from the lenders under the revolving credit facility (RCF) to declare any early repayment based on events of default resulting directly from non-compliance with the financial covenants at 30 June 2023,' it said in a statement.
Debt Restructuring
Casino struck the debt restructuring deal with creditors, led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky last Friday, in order to avert bankruptcy.
The agreement will result, in principle, in €1.2 billion of new money getting injected into Casino, while its debt of €6.4 billion will be restructured.
A consortium led by Kretinsky will end up owning between 50.4% and 53% of Casino shares.
Rescue Plan
Kretinsky's rescue plan marks the potential conclusion of Jean-Charles Naouri's 30-year reign as the Groupe Casino chief executive and controlling shareholder. This comes at a critical juncture for France's traditional retail sector, which is grappling with the challenges posed by the growing dominance of e-commerce and hard-discount supermarket chains.
As the sixth-largest retailer in France, Casino is currently reeling from the repercussions of years of deals, which have led to elevated debt levels.
The situation continues to worsen as evidenced by Casino's recent report of an operating loss amounting to €233 million during the first half of 2023. Additionally, the company's cash flow in France has deteriorated even further, plunging to a negative €1.6 billion.
Additional reporting by ESM
