GreenYellow/Casino - comment

GreenYellow has confirmed that they have raised a convertible bond and a syndicated credit facility to fund the roll-out of their strategy to own and operate the assets over the long term. Farallon Capital has subscribed in full for €109m 5yr convertible bond with a pool of banks subscribing for an €87m 1yr RCF, providing GreenYellow with an additional €194m of liquidity.

Note: GreenYellow borrowings are excluded from covenant calculations concerning Casino Group's RCF, but are included in the Consolidated Leverage Ratio of < 3.5x to allow dividends from Casino to Rallye.

Speculation remains that Casino will IPO GreenYellow soon, but the main focus of management is likely to be the listing or placement of Cnova shares to fund the expansionary CAPEX at that entity. Casino results are due on Friday.