French supermarket group Casino has launched a refinancing to clean out its upcoming debt maturities, hitting the final issuance slot given the long syndication timeline for raising a term loan' B'. It aims to issue a €200m TLB and a €300m unsecured bond, while launching a tender offer to buy back up to €1.2bn of outstanding debt.

Leader Price is France’s first discount banner to offer drive-through service, now available at over 100 stores. To enhance its relationship with customers and meet their emerging needs, Leader Price has launched a new concept in France designed to satisfy demand for local convenience, discounts and low prices: Leader Price Express. Casino group remains the owner of the Leader Price brand and will continue to operate it in France and internationally, under certain conditions agreed with ALDI. The Group will keep its profitable.

1. Les Echos said earlier that Casino was poised to sell Leader Price, which had 2018 sales of 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), to Aldi in a deal estimated to be worth 400 million euros.
2. The Leader Price brand does not disappear. The Casino group remains the owner and will even continue to operate 70 stores under this brand in France, only in areas far from those of Aldi. 'At the same time, the 95 Overseas and Italian Leader Prices also remain Leader Price,' said the spokesperson.

Casino said that after the transaction it will have largely covered maturities until 2024. If it is unable to buy back all the bonds it wants during the tender, it will place the new cash in a segregated account to repay maturities.

The source said both parties agreed on a 750 million euro ($834 million) value for Leader Price, but the deal is not yet signed. Casino declined to comment on the matter. Aldi did not immediately.

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True to its mission to give everyone access to high quality at the lowest prices, Leader Price is currently the most affordable food banner in France. The banner has assertively expanded its store network, boasting a total of 1,001 sales outlets in France as of 31 December 2014. Leader Price is France’s first discount banner to offer drive-through service, now available at over 100 stores.

To enhance its relationship with customers and meet their emerging needs, Leader Price has launched a new concept in France designed to satisfy demand for local convenience, discounts and low prices: Leader Price Express.

Nearly 62% of today’s consumers shop at convenience stores and 71% appreciate their accessibility, people-scale format and extended opening hours.

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Based on this observation, last July Leader Price launched the pilot phase of Leader Price Express, a new banner with a unique offering and positioning.

Leader Price Express has enhanced the existing Leader Price store network and strengthened its presence in local retail. The new convenience banner shares Leader Price’s values:

• Year-round low prices
• High-quality products and a fast shopping experience
• Stores with surface areas ranging from 75 to 300 square meters
• A simple, modern, elegant concept suited to the needs of urban shoppers
• A broad, varied offering ranging from 1,180 products at small outlets to 2,900 at 300-sq.m stores
• Assortments in which over 80% of items are Leader Price private-label products.

Following the successful pilot launch, Leader Price has stepped up the development of Leader Price Express, which had 240 outlets in France as of year-end 2014.

Leader Price, a banner committed to quality

Leader Price has built a powerful image of quality and choice in the discount market since it was created in 1990. Underpinned by a focus on everyday low prices on all products, Leader Price provides a carefully selected range of high-quality items that are perfectly suited to the needs of customers, while also offering an efficient, enjoyable shopping experience. The banner has a line-up of over 3,500 items, of which 80% are Leader Price-label products, 10% Le Prix Gagnant products and 10% national brand products. All share a commitment to health, taste, products grown or made in France, safety and traceability.

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The banner’s partnership with French food critic and television personality Jean-Pierre Coffe demonstrates that quality is a question of choice. Mr. Coffe participates actively in the development and validation of core Leader Pricelabel products and other specific labels (regional, organic, special occasion and Italian). This partnership has developed through an in-depth process to lift Leader Price products to ever-higher levels of quality and taste.