Jean-Charles Naouri (born March 8, 1949 in Bône (now Annaba), Algeria) is a French businessman. He is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and controlling shareholder of Groupe Casino.^[1]

Paris, 09 December 2020, Casino Group announces the launch of a transaction aimed at strengthening its liquidity until end-2023, reducing bond debt and extending its average maturity. Individual shareholder relations. Tel: +33 (0)1 55 77 40 57. Investor and financial analyst relations. Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 13 73 - Fax: +33 (0)1 44 71 13 70.

Education[edit]

Naouri received his baccalaureat degree at only 15 years old. He then studied in classes préparatoires at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand before entering the École Normale Supérieure in 1967. He also attended Harvard University, before returning in France and completing a PhD in Mathematics in only one year. He is also an alumnus of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (1974-1976).^[2]

Early career[edit]

Civil servant[edit]

After graduating from ENA in 1976, Jean-Charles Naouri joined the Inspection générale des finances (France), the auditing and supervisory body of the French Administration. From 1982 to 1986, he served as chief of staff for Pierre Bérégovoy, both at the Ministry of Social Affairs and National Solidarity and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Budget.^[3] During this period, he was the architect of the reforms implemented in the French financial markets, which included the creation of the MATIF futures and MONEP options markets and the introduction of certificates of deposit and commercial paper. In particular, he helped drive the financial market liberalization with measures to ease currency controls and eliminate credit restrictions.

Rothschild & Cie Banque[edit]

In 1987, Jean-Charles Naouri left government service and joined Rothschild & Cie Banque as Managing Partner.^[4] Around the same time, he established his own investment fund, Euris, which acquired minority equity investments in industrial companies, while increasing its investment capabilities.

Global retailing[edit]

Rallye[edit]

In the early 1990s, Jean-Charles Naouri shifted his investment strategy from opportunistic to acquiring strategic stakes. As part of this new strategy, in 1991 he acquired the Brittany-based retailer Rallye, which at the time was facing serious cash flow issues/challenges. Convinced of the future potential for retailing and the benefits of combining the two companies, in 1992 he engineered a merger of Rallye with Groupe Casino, thereby becoming Groupe Casino's largest shareholder.

Groupe Casino[edit]

In 1997, a hostile takeover bid for Groupe Casino by rival retailer Promodès^[5] was thwarted by the successful counter offer ^[6] from Jean-Charles Naouri, the Guichard family and Casino management, thereby maintaining the Group's independence.

In March 2005, Jean-Charles Naouri became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Casino Group,^[7] leading a substantial transformation of the retailer's profile by disposing of underperforming business segments in Poland, the United States, Taiwan and the Netherlands and strengthening the Group's presence in fast-growing markets. This made Casino the leading food retailer in South America (especially Brazil and Colombia), the Indian Ocean and Vietnam and the second largest in Thailand.

In France, Jean-Charles Naouri has refocused French operations in the convenience format segment, Groupe Casino's core business, and also positioned Casino in the discount segment by developing the Leader Price chain and the Cdiscount e-commerce website acquired in 2000.

In 2012, Groupe Casino acquired a controlling interest in Brazilian retailer Pão de Açúcar, the country's largest private-sector employer.^[8] The Group also purchased the 50% of French retailer Monoprix, which it did not already own, becoming the sole shareholder.^[9]

Social responsibility commitment[edit]

In addition to his business activities, Jean-Charles Naouri is also the founder of the Euris Foundation, which he created in 2000. Each year, the Foundation grants 40 scholarships to promising high school graduates from impoverished neighbourhoods in France.^[10]

He is also Vice Chairman of the Groupe Casino corporate foundation, which he founded in 2009 to improve access to culture and knowledge for children who are disadvantaged or suffering from illness.In addition, he is Honorary Chairman and Trustee of Ecole Normale Supérieure's Institut d’Expertise et de Prospective,^[11] which is responsible for developing ties between the school and the corporate world.

In June 2013, Jean-Charles Naouri was appointed by France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be a special representative for Economic relations with Brazil.^[12]

Positions[edit]

• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Casino, a listed company
• Chairman of the Board of Cnova N.V.
• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Euris
• Chairman of Rallye, a listed company
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao (CBD), a listed company
• Vice-Chairman of the Casino Group Corporate Foundation
• CEO of Casino Finance
• Chairman of the Euris Foundation

Other positions[edit]

• Board Member of Financière Marc de Lacharrière (FIMALAC)
• Member of the Advisory Committee of Banque de France
• Chairman of Association Promotion des Talents, a non-profit organisation
• Honorary Chairman and Director of Institut d’Expertise et de Prospective (Ecole Normale Supérieure)

Net worth[edit]

In 2015, Jean-Charles Naouri was ranked by Forbes Magazine as being worth $1.2 billion dollars. ^[13]

References[edit]

1. ^Jean Charles Naouri - Executive profile, Bloomberg Businessweek]
2. ^Jean-Charles Naouri - Brief biography, Reuters
3. ^Casino indiser : Jean-Charles Naouri, Macroaxis
4. ^Bookish Frenchman becomes Brazil retail kingpin, Chicago Tribune,June 21, 2013
5. ^French Grocery Chain Raises Hostile Bid, the New York Times, September 26, 1997
6. ^Casino Guichard-Perrachon S.A. History, Funding Universe
7. ^Jean-Charles Naouri becomes CEO of Casino, Retail Analysis, March 24, 2005
8. ^Casino to Become Sole Controller of Brazil’s Pao de Acucar, Bloomberg, May 15, 2012
9. ^Dean Best, Casino's Monoprix acquisition cleared, Just Food, July 10, 2013
10. ^L'excellence des lycéens défavorisés récompensée, Le Figaro, October 22, 2010
11. ^Jean-Charles Naouri est nommé président de l'Institut d'expertise et de prospective de l'Ecole normale supérieure, Les Echos, January 22, 2001
12. ^Jean-Charles Naouri appointed special representative for economic relations with Brazil, International supermarket news, August 21, 2013
13. ^https://www.forbes.com/profile/jean-charles-naouri/#120ea9854bd9

Paris, 22 October 2019,

In order to strengthen its liquidity and capital structure, the Group is negotiating the extension of all of its credit lines in France and announces its intention to raise new financings for a targeted amount of €1.5bn in order to refinance part of its existing debt.

The Group is working with the banks participating in its confirmed credit lines (whether syndicated or bilateral) to agree a new syndicated revolving facility, maturing in October 2023, for approximately €2.0bn. The Group has already received commitments from 14 French and international banks for more than €1.6bn, subject to final documentation and customary conditions.

In parallel, the Group intends to raise new financings for a target amount of €1.5bn, through a term loan facility (Term Loan B) and an additional senior secured debt instrument, both maturing in January 2024. The proceeds will be used to partially refinance the Group’s existing debt. Specifically, Casino intends to launch a tender offer on its bonds which mature in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

As part of these financing agreements, the Group plans to provide security over the following assets:

• Those banks involved in the new revolving facility and term loan investors will benefit from security over the main French operating subsidiaries, Casino Finance and the French holding companies owning the Group’s stakes in Latin America;
• The additional senior secured debt instrument will benefit from security over the shares of Immobilière Groupe Casino, which itself owns approximately €1.0bn of real estate assets in France.

The documentation for the new revolving facility, the term loan and the additional senior secured debt instrument will include covenants related to Casino dividend payments. Beyond an envelope which will allow the payment of an ordinary dividend¹, additional dividend payments will only be permitted if Casino respects an agreed debt / EBITDA ratio post dividend distribution. This ratio will be calculated at the French perimeter (including E-commerce), based on gross debt less disposal proceeds allocated to debt reimbursement, and must not exceed 3.5x post dividend payment. As of end June 2019, this ratio was 6.4x.

The banks’ participation in the new syndicated revolving facility is conditioned upon Casino raising at least €1bn by May 2020, via the financings described above and/or proceeds of disposals that have not yet been signed.

Groupe Casino Finance Corporation

The two parts of this project will significantly improve the Group’s liquidity and increase Casino’s average debt maturity in France. This strengthening of the capital structure will allow the Group to fully concentrate on reaching its operating, financial and strategic objectives as well as on executing its asset disposal plan. The Group confirms its intention to reach net debt in France of less than €1.5bn at end-2020 and maintain this level over time.

ANALYST AND INVESTOR CONTACTS
Régine GAGGIOLI – +33 (0)1 53 65 64 17
rgaggioli@groupe-casino.fr
or

+33 (0)1 53 65 24 17
IR_Casino@groupe-casino.fr

PRESS CONTACTS
CasinoGroup – Direction of Communication
Stéphanie ABADIE - sabadie@groupe-casino.fr - +33 (0)6 26 27 37 05

Groupe Casino Finance Login

or

+33(0)1 53 65 24 78 - directiondelacommunication@groupe-casino.fr

Agence IMAGE 7
Karine ALLOUIS - +33(0)1 53 70 74 84 - kallouis@image7.fr
Grégoire LUCAS - gregoire.lucas@image7.fr

Groupe Casino Finance Group

This press release constitutes a public disclosure of inside information by the Company under Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (16 April 2014) and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2016/1055 (10 June 2016).

Groupe Casino Finance Company

Disclaimer

This press release may include forward looking statements. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “may”, “assume”, “plan”, “intend”, “will”, “should”, “estimate”, “risk” and or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding the Company’s or any of its affiliates’ intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company’s or any of its affiliates’ results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industries in which they operate. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Readers are cautioned that forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Company’s or any of its affiliates’ actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industries in which they operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward looking statements contained in this press release. In addition, even if the Company’s or any of its affiliates’ results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industries in which they operate are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.
The forward-looking statements and information contained in this announcement are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Groupe Casino France

¹ This envelope will be calculated as 50% of the cumulated underlying net profit (Group share), including the contribution of discontinued operations, over the period at the French perimeter, with a floor of €100m distributable every year starting in 2021, plus an envelope of €100m than will be available in one or several installments over the life of the instruments.

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