PARIS (Reuters) - Casino, the indebted French supermarket retailer under pressure on the bond markets, said on Friday that it has extended a deadline with its creditors to Oct. 3.
"This extension will enable ongoing negotiations on a lock-up agreement to continue," said Casino.
Casino's shares, which closed up 1.7% on Friday, have slumped by around 86% since the start of 2023. Casino has been hit by fierce competition in the French supermarket sector, and was forced to restructure after years of debt-fuelled deals started to weigh on its balance sheet.
Earlier this year, Casino earmarked a debt restructuring deal with creditors led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
Nevertheless Casino, whose parent holding company is Rallye, led by Jean-Charles Naouri, has remained under pressure on the debt markets.
In August, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) cut its rating on Casino to D, denoting a likely default, after Casino failed to pay the interest on a bond.