PARIS -- French supermarket operator Casino Guichard- Perrachon SA plans to sell some of its real estate in Thailand and Colombia as it seeks to cut debt by more than 2 billion euros (78.7 billion baht) next year.
Casino is the majority shareholder in Big C supermarkets
The project, which includes selling operations in Vietnam, "will create value for all shareholders" and "significantly improve" Casino's financial structure, the Saint-Etienne, France-based company said Tuesday after European markets closed.
Casino is seeking to raise money from operations outside of France, and shift debt away from its domestic business. A sale of Latin American supermarket assets announced in July raised about 1.7 billion euros.
"It's too early to say" what the structure of the real- estate transactions will be, chief financial officer Antoine Giscard D'Estaing said on a conference call.