Casino Group extends the maturity of its syndicated credit facility
Casino Group extends the maturity of its
syndicated credit facility and improves its financial
conditions
Paris, 19 July 2021
Casino Group announces that it has
extended the maturity and improved the financial conditions of its
main syndicated credit facility, originally set to mature in
October 2023.
The amendment to the loan documentation, signed
by all the lenders, will be effective on July 22nd, and provides
for:
- the extension of the maturity of the facility from October 2023
to July 20261, for an amount of 1.8 billion euros;
- a review of the financial covenants, in line with the
improvement of the Group’s financial position and GreenYellow’s
growth plan2.
Consequently, as from 30 June 2021, the Group
undertakes to comply on a quarterly basis with the following
covenants, which replace the previous covenants, for the France
Retail and E-commerce perimeter, excluding GreenYellow:
-
- a ratio of secured gross debt to EBITDA (after lease payments)
not in excess of 3.5x3,
- a ratio of EBITDA (after lease payments) to net finance costs
not less than 2.5x (previously 2.25x);
- a decrease in the cost of utilisation (taking into account the
arrangement fees applicable to the extension)4.
The guarantees and security interests initially
granted to the lenders remain unchanged5.
The dividend restrictions provided for in the
financings raised since November 2019 remain unchanged6.
In addition, the Group announces the
renewal of the Monoprix syndicated credit facility that
was set to mature this month. The new syndicated credit facility,
in an amount of €105 million (which can be increased to €130
million) matures in January 2026. It will be the Group’s first
syndicated credit facility to contain a yearly margin adjustment
clause based on the satisfaction of ambitious CSR targets:
- reduction in Scopes 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions (direct
emissions, mainly including energy consumption, refrigerants,
transport of goods under operational control);
- proportion of net sales derived from products labelled
"responsible";
- net sales derived from vegetable protein products.
The amount of the Group’s lines of
credit available at any time now stands at €2.2 billion, with
an average maturity of 4.6 years (versus 2.2 years prior to this
transaction).
Summary of the Group’s confirmed available
liquidity:
Borrower |
Type of facility |
Maximum |
Maturity |
CGP |
RCF |
€1,799m |
July 2026 |
CGP |
RCF |
€252m |
October 2023 |
CGP |
RCF |
USD 25m |
July 2022 |
Monoprix |
RCF |
€105m |
January 2026 |
Monoprix |
Bilateral |
€40m |
January 2023 |
Total |
|
€2,217m |
4.6 years |
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms as
“believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “may”, “assume”, “plan”,
“intend”, “will”, “should”, “estimate”, “risk” and or, in each
case, their negative, or other variations or comparable
terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters
that are not historical facts and include statements regarding
Casino, Guichard-Perrachon SA’s (the “Company”), or any of its
affiliates’ (the “Group”) intentions, beliefs or current
expectations concerning, among other things, the Company’s or any
of its affiliates’ results of operations, financial position,
liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industries in
which they operate. By their nature, forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and
depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.
Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and that the Company’s or any of
its affiliates’ actual results of operations, financial position
and liquidity, and the development of the industries in which they
operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. In
addition, even if the Company’s or any of its affiliates’ results
of operations, financial position and liquidity, and the
development of the industries in which they operate are consistent
with the forward-looking statements contained in this press
release, those results or developments may not be indicative of
results or developments in subsequent periods.
The forward-looking statements and information
contained in this announcement are made as of the date hereof and
the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise
any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required
by applicable securities laws
ANALYST AND INVESTOR CONTACTS
Lionel Benchimol – +33 (0)1 53
65 64 17 lbenchimol@groupe-casino.fror+33 (0)1 53
65 24 17 IR_Casino@groupe-casino.fr
PRESS CONTACTSCasino Group –
Communications DepartmentStéphanie Abadie –
sabadie@groupe-casino.fr – +33 (0)6 26 27 37
05or+33 (0)1 53 65 24 78 –
directiondelacommunication@groupe-casino.frAgence IMAGE
7Karine Allouis – +33 (0)1 53 70 74 84 –
kallouis@image7.frFranck Pasquier – +33(0)6 73 62 57 99 –
fpasquier@image7.fr
1 May 2025 if the Term Loan B, maturing in
August 2025, is not repaid or refinanced as at that date.
2 See GreenYellow press release dated 14 May
2021.
3 Compared with an initial ratio of gross debt
to EBITDA (see press release dated 19 November 2019). At 31
December 2020, this ratio was 2.3x. Secured debt mainly comprises
drawdowns on this €2.05 billion syndicated facility, the Term Loan
B and the Quatrim bond issue.
4 At the current leverage ratio, these costs of
utilisation are on average 70 basis points lower, including
the arrangement fees for the extension.
5 See press release dated 22 October 2019.
6 Dividends may only be freely paid out if the
Group’s consolidated leverage ratio is less than 3.5x following the
payout. The Group also has a permitted amount for ordinary
dividends, calculated as 50% of underlying net profit, Group share,
including operations discontinued since October 2019 in the France
perimeter (including E-commerce), with a minimum of
€100 million per year from 2021 and an additional
€100 million that may be used for one or several distributions
during the term of the loan.
- 2021.07.19 - PR - Casino Group extends the maturity of its
syndicated credit facility
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