Casino confirms talks with Aldi to sell Leader Price discount stores | Progresiv
Casino has confirmed a media report that said it was in talks with Aldi regarding the sale of its Leader Price discount banner. 
In a statement, Casino said it had received an expression of interest from Aldi regarding the sale of Leader Price stores operating in “metropolitan France”. Casino said following this, both sides began talks towards a binding offer being submitted by Aldi. The French group said it will disclose any such details once the offer is made and if the terms are “acceptable to the group”.
The statement confirmed a report by Les Echos, which said Casino was close to selling Leader Price for around 400 million euros, adding that BNP Paribas had been appointed to handle the deal.
Casino has already sold off 2.1 billion euros worth of assets, and recently announced plans to sell another 2 billion euros in assets, as it looks to lower its heavy debt burden, which has resulted in downgrades from credit ratings agencies and analysts. However, all its disposals so far have been through tranches of stores – selling Leader Price, which operates around 770 stores and generated sales of 2.5 billion euros in 2018, would be the biggest move so far by the group. (www.kamcity.com)
