A consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is poised to acquire a controlling stake of 53.7% in French retailer Casino, according to a statement released by the company. The restructuring plan will result in significant dilution for current shareholders, who will own just 0.3% of the share capital. The statement also highlighted a report by independent expert Sorgem Evaluation, which concluded that the plan is fair to existing shareholders. Casino emphasized that without the implementation of the restructuring plan, the company’s enterprise value of €3.71 billion would fall well short of its net debt of €7.88 billion. As part of the restructuring efforts, Casino has entered into exclusive negotiations to sell all of its big stores to Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail. With the company facing potential losses for its core French business in 2023, Casino is working tirelessly to finalize a bailout and stave off bankruptcy in the early part of this year.
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