He is a historical figure of French capitalism who is withdrawing through the back door. Wednesday March 27, Jean-Charles Naouri, 75, will no longer be the owner of the Casino Group, nor its CEO. Some still refuse to believe it, convinced that a final twist remains possible, that the illusionist will extract a rabbit from his cart, like so many times in the past… The others hold their breath, but not their reproaches.
“The end was inevitable for a building which had become, over the years, Calais lace. Even if it is the accumulation of crises – “yellow vests”, pandemic, rising interest rates, inflation – which caused the fall. The smokescreen that masked the difficulties was very thick, but from the inside it was better seen.”underlines a former member of the Casino staff who requested anonymity, like the dozen former managers interviewed by The world : because, even defeated, Mr. Naouri is still scary…
On Wednesday, at the end of a vast financial restructuring, the consortium led by Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, associated with Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, the founder of Fimalac, and the British debt fund Attestor, will recover 52% of the capital of Casino, in exchange for a contribution of 925 million euros. Through a massive dilution effect, Rallye – the parent company of Casino controlled by Mr. Naouri – will see its share reduced to 0.1%. “The Mozart of finance has become the sparrow of finance”quips bitterly, in a video published on X, a representative of the CGT of Monoprix. “And today, it is we, his employees, who must pay his debts”while a social plan is awaited.
Cascading Holdings
The group, now almost reduced to its French brands such as Monoprix, Franprix, Petit Casino, Vival and even Cdiscount, employed some 44,000 employees at the end of 2023, before the sale of its hypermarkets and supermarkets in France, which further narrowed the hexagonal workforce at 28,200 people. At the end of 2015, at the height of its power, the empire built by the “Napoleon of the gondolas” extended from Vietnam to Brazil, counting more than 325,000 employees.
Having barely started, the finance inspector, former director of Pierre Bérégovoy’s office at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (1984-1986), was able to count on his brain and his network to grow through acquisitions.
In order to finance these operations without losing majority control of his group, he was inspired by the cascade holding company model – called “Breton pulleys” by Vincent Bolloré – allowing minority investors and debt to be stacked. This debt ultimately caused Mr. Naouri’s downfall, but not without a painful struggle.
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