Auchan and Groupe Rocca in Acquisition of Casino’s Supermarkets and Hypermarkets in Corsica

Cleary Gottlieb represented the consortium comprising Auchan Retail and Groupe Rocca, which on June 21, 2024, entered into exclusive negotiations with Distribution Casino France (Casino) for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Codim 2 S.A.S. (Codim).

Codim owns four hypermarkets, nine supermarkets, three Cash & Carry facilities, and two Drive stores located in Corsica, France, representing total sales for 2023 of c. €332 million excluding VAT.

The entry into exclusive negotiations follows a competitive bid process in which the quality of the joint proposal from Auchan Retail and Groupe Rocca, which covered all the stores offered for sale by Casino in Corsica, was retained. The proceeds of this joint bid would support Casino’s financial restructuring and maintain a maximum number of employees in the stores.

The proposed transaction remains subject to the signing of a binding agreement between the parties and clearance by the relevant competition authorities.