International rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Senior Unsecured rating of French retailing giant Groupe Casino at ‘BBB’, and its Short-term rating of ‘F2’. The rating outlook is stable.
These senior unsecured and short-term ratings apply to unsubordinated issuances under Casino Guichard-Perrachon’s €4bn (US$3.89bn) EMTN Programme.
Fitch notes that, on updating the details for this programme, the Negative Pledge clause (restrictions on raising secured debt) has been changed to be more in-line with Euro issues’ Negative Pledge clauses.
The original documentation referred to the Issuer and its Principal Subsidiaries’ inability to create or permit security on any borrowed money, or Relevant Indebtedness.
Relevant Indebtedness is “indebtedness for borrowed money whether or not represented by notes or other securities which are for the time being, or are capable of being, quoted, listed or ordinary dealt with on any stock exchange, over-the-counter-market or other securities market”.

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe renewed documentation deletes the wording “whether or not” and thus, for instance, this definition can exclude the raising of secured debt from banks.