Czech Sphinx between European magnates feuding over debt-laden French supermarket giant Casino
Two European magnates with stakes in some of the UK’s biggest companies vie for the future of a debt-laden French supermarket chain.
Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire who is the largest investor in Royal Mail and has interests in Sainsbury’s and West Ham FC, is going up against Frenchman Xavier Niel, founder of telecom company Iliad.
Both have submitted bids to take control of Casino, one of France’s largest food brands, which is restructuring to reduce debt, which will drastically reduce the value of many of its investor holdings.
The stock price has come under pressure after short sellers targeted the stock due to rising debt concerns.
It’s down 70 percent in a year and crashed by about a third yesterday as investors fled the prospect of destruction.
Showdown: Billionaires Xavier Niel, left, and Daniel Kretinsky have both submitted bids to take control of French supermarket chain Casino
Casino also faces competition from rivals, including German discounters such as Lidl.
Restructuring means that the controlling shareholder and CEO, businessman Jean-Charles Naouri, will lose control and likely be removed from the board.
Kretinksy, 47, is offering £1.15 billion in cash and is working with some creditors to convert a number of outstanding loans into equity, valuing the total offer at £1.5 billion.
Nicknamed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ for his inscrutable approach to investing, he made his living buying power plants through his energy company EPH, a major player in the UK.
Niel is leading a consortium, which also includes French banker Matthieu Pigasse and entrepreneur Moez-Alexandre Zouari, who runs many of Casino’s franchise stores, and is offering to invest £770 million.
The trio has secured backing from creditors who have £1.3 billion in casino debt. Niel, 55, founded Iliad in 1990 and made a fortune by breaking open the French telecom market.
Niel, a tax evader, was fined approximately £214,000 and received a four-year suspended prison sentence in 2004.
In 2020, he admitted to hacking French phones, including those of former President Francois Mitterrand.
Both tycoons are halves of power couples. Kretinsky married Anna Kellnerova, an amazon who competed in the 2020 Olympics and is the heiress of Petr Kellner, formerly the richest man in the Czech Republic, who died in 2021.
Downgraded: Casino’s share price is down 70% in a year and crashed by about a third yesterday as investors fled the prospect of an outage
Niel’s partner is Delphine Arnault, boss of Dior and the daughter of Bernard Arnault, the second richest man in the world who heads luxury goods giant LVMH.
In the UK, Kretinsky owns 26.2 percent of Royal Mail’s parent company, IDS – and 9.9 percent of Sainsbury’s.
Niel’s UK interests include buying a 2.5 per cent stake in telecom giant Vodafone in September, prompting predictions of a major shakeup from a struggling company.
But some have said the battle over Casino is likely to distract his attention for some time, potentially providing relief for Vodafone’s new boss, Margherita Della Valle.
And Niel and Kretinsky face the prospect that other rivals will destroy their war.
The Mulliez family, which controls grocer Auchan, sporting goods chain Decathlon and DIY chain Leroy Merlin, would consider joining Kretinsky.
Grocery store Carrefour is also linked.