Press release from the Competition Council regarding the economic concentration project concerning the acquisition by « EP Equity Investment Sàrl » of the exclusive control of « Casino, Guichard-Perrachon SA », through the acquisition of 57% of the share capital and associated voting rights.

In accordance with Article 13 of Law 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition and Article 10 of Decree No. 2-14-652 issued for its implementation as amended and supplemented, the Competition Council makes available to the public the « summary of the transaction » below, containing the information provided by the parties.

This information has been prepared by the notifying parties, who are solely responsible. Any inaccurate or distorted information contained therein does not in any way prejudge the Competition Council’s position on the proposed transaction.

The publication of this press release does not attest to the completeness of the file provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 2-14-652 issued for the implementation of Law 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition as amended and supplemented.

Names of the companies and groups involved:

– The direct acquirer: « France Retail Holdings Sàrl »;

– The indirect acquirer: « EP Equity Investment Sàrl »;

– The target: « Casino, Guichard-Perrachon SA ».

Nature of the transaction

– Exclusive control acquisition.

Economic sectors concerned

– Wholesale market of consumer goods;

– Retail market of consumer goods.

Deadline for interested third parties to submit their observations

– 10 days from the date of publication of this press release, i.e., January 2, 2024

NON-CONFIDENTIAL SUMMARY OF THE TRANSACTION PROVIDED BY THE PARTIES

The Competition Council received a notification whereby « EP Equity Investment Sàrl » (« EPEI »), a Luxembourg company controlled by Mr. Daniel Křetínský, acquires the exclusive control of « Casino, Guichard-Perrachon SA » (« Casino »), a French company controlled by Groupe Rallye and ultimately controlled by Mr. Jean Charles Naouri.

The concentration is carried out through an indirect increase in the share capital of EPEI, as the current indirect minority shareholder of Casino, as part of a financial restructuring of Casino’s existing debt.

The activities of the companies concerned are as follows:

1. For EPEI:

• Investment in companies active in various fields of activity;
• Daniel Křetínský also controls various entities active in various fields of activity, including energy, media, book publishing, infrastructure, postal and delivery services, e-commerce, wholesale and retail of food products, wholesale and retail of electronic devices and other non-food products, and video games.

1. For Casino:

• Casino’s activities are focused on retail sales of consumer goods, through hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount stores, and convenience stores located in France, Brazil, and Cameroon, under different banners;
• Casino also owns franchised stores in Europe, the French overseas territories, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean;
• Furthermore, Casino operates in France as an online retailer and operator of the Cdiscount marketplace, focused on electronics and other non-food products.

Done in Rabat on December 21, 2023.