Casino Increases GPA Stake

Groupe Casino, the French food retailer, increased its stake in Brazilian retailer Grupo Pao de Acucar (GPA) to 37.0% from 33.7% for around $360m. The move does not change the corporate control of the Brazilian unit. Diniz and his family own 32.7% of the ordinary and preferred shares of GPA. This comes after the company filed for arbitration against Abilio Diniz, GPA’s chairman, over reports of possible merger negotiations with Carrefour, Casino’s main competitor in France. GPA has also issued a denial on the Brazilian stock exchange that it was negotiating a merger with Carrefour. However, such a move could result in an entity with a combined 28% stake in the Brazilian market. Acucar has a market cap of around BRL16.2bn ($9.8bn). Groupe Casino stock fell 3.32% to close at EUR66.77 on the Paris stock exchange Thursday, while GPA slipped 2.324% on the NYSE to close at $41.610.