Lovers of sophisticated and innovative arrangements are not disappointed

Referring to the Casino Group's strategy to enhance its real estate assets, Jean-Charles Naouri warned. "There is no single answer." "For the walls, we are working actively on different options," said as the CEO and owner of the Distributor via his holding rally at the presentation of the results of the 2006 fiscal year, March 16. It took seven months, almost to the day, to have the translation is concrete, with the announcement Friday of a triple operation constituting, according to a release of the group, "a new step in the deployment of its real estate strategy." Lovers of sophisticated and innovative arrangements are not disappointed.

Casino was indeed at least two novel techniques used in the distribution sector: using first class investment dedicated to real estate (OPCI), where the group is even pioneer in France (read below). and then establishing variable rents. What "has already been made in France, but in the hotel sector alone", said Jacques Ehrmann, Director of real estate activities and the expansion of Casino. These two innovations concerning the first part of the operation announced Friday, namely the creation of AEW Immocommercial, a real estate funds in which the walls of 255 stores and supermarkets (170,000 m2) are housed. "We have selected most stores which are believed that they are perennial in their location or their activity", explains the pattern of real estate, emphasizing the interest for Casino to pay rents fully variable and expressed as a percentage of net sales. "This allows to adjust the amounts for the operator, to avoid indexing of the cost of the construction and support of exploitation rather than financial commitment to", details the head.

Stability of title

The second operation is also a real estate funds, but unlike the first, where Casino will retain at least 10 of the capital from institutional investors, this time the insurer Generali second shareholder of the land rated Casino, Mercialys holds 100 of Immocio, which are housed the stores and warehouses of Vindmia at the meeting, which will be governed by the classic commercial leases. A departure from the principle of control of the assets of operation "No", refutes Jacques Ehrmann, for which this operation remains faithful to the strategy of the Distributor, which retained control of the land and parking lots around the reunion stores, so, again, to avoid the possibility, as elsewhere, to invest in creative projects of value. Logic found in the third operation announced Friday, with the contribution to Mercialys five merchant galleries of Vindmia at the meeting, to EUR 77 million, paid for the most part in new shares of the land and about 10 million in cash.

In total, Casino will receive EUR 650 million in 2007, before the tax on capital gains (estimated at about 80 million), who will be paid next year. This should enable the Distributor, according to a note of Oddo, "to achieve its objective of a net debt to Ebitda ratio of less than 2.5 times by the end of the year". The market had no doubt, it seems, since the action has completed stable at 75,96 euros ( 0.09), Friday at the close of the stock exchange of Paris, after admittedly won 1.68 the day before on an unlikely rumour that Tesco could throw his vest on the Group controlled by Jean-Charles Naouri.