Casino: EU enquiry into procurement centre

(CercleFinance.com) - The Casino share has fallen by 5% over the last five trading sessions, with it losing more than 17% of its value over the past month.
According to Le Figaro, Casino's headquarters were raided by the French judicial police because of an investigation by the European Commission.

The European Commission is conducting an enquiry into the practices of the procurement centre, which was shared by Intermarché over 2016 and 2017. In particular, it is investigating price negotiations with the main agri-food and mass market consumer groups, Aurel BGC says in reaction the an article in le Figaro.

The stock is also penalised by investors' concerns about the group's heavy debt, with increased competition - particularly from e-commerce - putting pressure on its margins. Casino has responded by significantly deleveraging through a number of disposals, also adjusting its strategy.

However, this is not enough to convince the credit rating agencies: after Moody's earlier this month, in turn, Standard & Poor's has downgraded its rating on the group's debt.



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