Pluxee Proposes €390 Million Injection and Debt Cut to €800 Million
Key Facts
French group Pluxee announced on November 10 a preliminary agreement on the main terms of its debt restructuring, including a €390 million injection and a reduction in the principal of its term loan from €1.4 billion to €800 million. The company said the agreement was reached on November 9 between Pluxee, France Retail Holdings and the steering committee of creditors, which represents about 90% of the loan principal. The partner banks are expected to submit the agreement to their credit committees with recommendations in favor. Implementation remains conditional on completing the documentation, votes and court approvals. Pluxee aims to implement the plan by the end of March 2027.
The proposal provides for €390 million in new funding through a capital increase reserved for France Retail Holdings. Pluxee also intends to reset the loan’s target balance of €800 million for five years. The company will convert the difference between the current principal and the target balance into shares. It said the final amount of debt may change depending on interest paid before completion of the transaction. Under the plan, lenders will receive shares in exchange for part of their debt, while the new funds will come from the main shareholder.
Pluxee warned that the debt-to-equity conversion and capital injection would significantly dilute existing shareholders’ stakes. It expects their ownership to fall below 0.1% of the capital after completion of the transaction. The restructuring comes less than two years after a previous restructuring helped Casino, the group’s former name, avoid bankruptcy. The earlier process ended with a consortium led by Daniel Křetínský taking control in March 2024. The group announced that it would change its name to Pluxee on October 20, 2026.
The plan comes as Pluxee’s data showed liquidity of €634 million on September 30, 2026, most of it available cash. But its net leverage ratio stood at 7.33 times on the same date. That exceeded the maximum of 6.11 times under its financial covenant schedule. The company also said its projected leverage ratio on December 31, 2026 is likely to exceed the current covenant ceiling of 5.23 times. It tied approval of its audited financial statements for 2025 and the first half of 2026 to the outcome of the restructuring and the signing of a binding agreement.
On the operating front, net sales were €1.949 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 0.3% on a like-for-like basis but down 2.7% overall. The company attributed part of the overall decline to an impact of about three percentage points from reducing its network of small-format branded stores. In the first nine months of the year, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 9.3% to €498 million. Adjusted earnings after rental payments increased 54% to €172 million. Pluxee said it is targeting free cash flow at breakeven before financial expenses in 2026.
Free cash flow before financial expenses was positive €16 million in the first nine months of 2026, compared with a deficit of €45 million in the same period of 2025. After financial expenses, the deficit was €104 million in the first nine months of 2026. Chief Executive Philippe Palazzi said the strengthened financial structure would enable the group to “look to the future with confidence.” In France, total industrial production fell 0.5% in September after declining 0.4% in August, reaching its lowest level since May 2025. By contrast, manufacturing output rose 0.5% in September, while INSEE set December 4, 2026, at 08:45 as the release time for October industrial production data.