2023-10-09 16:40:44
Are all shots allowed when it comes to business? This is the question that the Paris commercial court will have to answer. According to our information, businessmen Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse (both individual shareholders of Monde) and Moez-Alexandre Zouari have just brought before this court the British fund Attestor, which had changed sides on the sly, just before the submission of firm offers for the takeover of Casino, in mid-July. The plaintiffs accuse their ex-partner of having “violated his duty of good faith and loyalty”according to the assignment that The world was able to consult. When questioned, neither Attestor nor 3F, the company bringing together the complainants, responded to us.
On July 16, the trio announced that they were giving up their candidacy for the takeover of the distributor in bad shape, following discovering that the British financier, Casino’s main creditor and their ally until then, had surreptitiously joined the competing consortium, that of billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière. On July 28, an agreement in principle was sealed between Casino, its creditors and the new Kretinsky-Lacharrière-Attestor team.
Created in 2012 in London, with 7.5 billion dollars (7.1 billion euros) in capital managed, Attestor is an alternative fund, which focuses on finding ” opportunities “ investment. These often take the form of highly indebted firms, in such difficulty that the markets doubt their ability to repay their debts. As a result, their loans are traded at discounted prices, that is to say below the value at which they were issued. The Attestor, Davidson Kempner and Sculptor funds have made it a specialty to buy back these securities in anticipation of a future restructuring operation, which would allow them to convert these loans into capital and thus benefit from a possible turnaround. Attestor is notably a major shareholder of the rental company Europcar, which came close to going off the road during the Covid-19 crisis.
Confidentiality agreement
Concerning Casino, the City financier first ensured that he was essential by picking up almost a quarter of a secured credit line of some 2 billion euros previously held by the banks. When the conciliation opens on May 26, Attestor, like all funds, then makes the rounds of the buyers in the running. Two camps clash. On the one hand, 3F lacks capital but presents the most successful business plan with Mr. Zouari, main Franprix franchisee, as its leader. Opposite, the Kretinsky-Ladreit de Lacharrière duo has no financing problem, but leaves little room for other financiers.
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