French retailer Plesio agrees on debt restructuring with majority shareholder Kretinsky

By Dimitri Rhodes and Alessandro Parodi

Nov 10 (Reuters) - French supermarket group Plesio CASP.PA, formerly known as Casino, said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement in principle to restructure its debt, as it reported a small organic rise in quarterly revenue weighed down by lower non-food sales particularly in September.

The agreement could raise the stake of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, whose consortium controls Plesio's majority shareholder France Retail Holdings, to around 80%, Plesio CEO Philippe Palazzi told journalists.

The deal will mark Plesio's second debt restructuring in less than two years. The first one, which helped the struggling retailer avoid bankruptcy, culminated in a March 2024 takeover by a consortium led by Kretinsky.

Plesio currently has €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) of debt maturing in March 2027, which will be reduced to €800 million through the restructuring plan. The deal includes a €390 million capital increase from France Retail Holdings.

The supermarket operator reported 0.3% growth in its comparable sales to €1.95 billion for the third quarter.

($1 = 0.8908 euros)