Leclerc in talks to acquire 60 stores from Casino | Progresiv
Three quarters of the hypermarkets of the Casino Group should pass under the banner of Michel-Edouard Leclerc. 
Negotiations are in full swing. According to sources cited by Capital, E.Leclerc negotiates the acquisition of about sixty Géant Casino stores. The transaction would exceed 1.5 billion euros. On a fleet of about 80 Géant hypermarkets still owned by the Casino Group, the latter would keep only twenty located in the south-east and that of Annemasse, near Geneva, deemed the most profitable chain. This transaction, if it were to succeed, would constitute a major operation for the group of Michel Edouard Leclerc. Casino's total hypermarket business weighs 4.5 billion euros. Already leader of the distribution in France with nearly 22% of market share, the champion of low prices would thus reinforce its domination. At this stage, according to a source close to the deal, no binding legal document has however been signed between the two parties. Moreover, the deal would not fail to be submitted to the Competition Authority.
For its part, the Casino Group is pursuing a forced sell-off plan to reduce its heavy debts by 4.7 billion euros. The strategy of Jean-Charles Naouri is today to refocus, in Europe, on three activities: proximity with Franprix, premium with Monoprix, and digital with Cdiscount. Apart from the Brazilian subsidiary, all the rest is intended to be wholly or partly sold
At the last count there were 118 closures and 56 hypermarkets or supermarkets. In August, Casino again raised its asset disposal plan from 2.5 to 4.5 billion euros by the first quarter of 2021.
Since 19 September, Casino has also entered into exclusive negotiations with Germany's Aldi to sell its entire Leader Price fleet. The check could rise beyond 700 million euros, much more than the 400 million mentioned so far. (www.capital.fr)
