Bond Guichard Casino 4.481% ( FR0010893396 ) in EUR

Guichard Casino

100 % ▼

France

FR0010893396 ( in EUR )

4.481% per year ( payment 1 time a year)

12/11/2018 - Bond has expired

Prospectus brochure of the bond Casino Guichard FR0010893396 in EUR 4.481%, expired

50 000 EUR

507 750 000 EUR

Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA is a French multinational retail company operating primarily in the food retail sector, with diverse holdings including supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores, both domestically and internationally.

The Bond issued by Guichard Casino ( France ) , in EUR, with the ISIN code FR0010893396, pays a coupon of 4.481% per year.
The coupons are paid 1 time per year and the Bond maturity is 12/11/2018

ng

Casino, Guichard-Perrachon
Casino Finance
Euro 9,000,000,000
Euro Medium Term Note Programme
Due from one month from the date of original issue
Unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Casino, Guichard-Perrachon in respect of
Notes issued by Casino Finance

Under the Euro Medium Term Note Programme described in this Base Prospectus (the "Programme"), Casino, Guichard-Perrachon ("Casino" or, in its capacity as issuer, an
"Issuer") and Casino Finance ("Casino Finance" or an "Issuer" (together with Casino, in its capacity as Issuer, the "Issuers")), subject to compliance with all relevant laws,
regulations and directives, may from time to time issue Euro Medium Term Notes (the "Notes"). The Notes issued by Casino Finance will, upon their issue, be guaranteed by
Casino (the "Guarantor") pursuant to a cautionnement solidaire (the "Guarantee"). The aggregate nominal amount of Notes outstanding will not at any time exceed
Euro 9,000,000,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies).
This Base Prospectus shall be in force for a period of one year as of the date set out hereunder.
Application has been made to the Commission de surveillance du secteur financier ("CSSF") in its capacity as competent authority in Luxembourg under the loi relative aux
prospectus pour valeurs mobilières dated 10 July 2005, as amended (the "Prospectus Act 2005") for the approval of this document as a base prospectus for the purposes of Article
5.4 of the Prospectus Directive. In accordance with article 7(7) of the Prospectus Act 2005, the CSSF shall give no undertaking as to the economical and financial soundness of the
operation or the quality or solvency of the Issuers by approving this Base Prospectus.
Application may be made for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of this Base Prospectus (i) to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange for the Notes issued under the
Programme to be admitted to trading on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange's regulated market and to be listed on the official list of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and/or (ii) to
the competent authority of any other Member State of the European Economic Area ("EEA") for Notes issued under the Programme to be listed and admitted to trading on an
EEA Regulated Market (as defined below) in such Member State. However, Notes issued under the Programme may be unlisted and/or not admitted to trading on any market
including an EEA Regulated Market. The relevant final terms (the "Final Terms") (a form of which is contained herein) in respect of the issue of any Notes will specify whether
or not such Notes will be listed and admitted to trading and, if so, the relevant EEA Regulated Market.
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange is a regulated market for the purposes of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014/65/EU, as amended ("MiFID II"), appearing on
the list of regulated markets issued by the European Commission (an "EEA Regulated Market").
References in this Base Prospectus to the "Prospectus Directive" are to the Directive 2003/71/EC of 4 November 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to
the public or admitted to trading, as amended.
Notes may be issued either in dematerialised form ("Dematerialised Notes") or in materialised form ("Materialised Notes") as more fully described herein.
Dematerialised Notes will at all times be in book entry form in compliance with Articles L.211-3 and R.211-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier. No physical documents
of title will be issued in respect of the Dematerialised Notes.
Dematerialised Notes may, at the option of the relevant Issuer, be in bearer dematerialised form (au porteur) inscribed as from the issue date in the books of Euroclear France
("Euroclear France") (acting as central depositary) which shall credit the accounts of Account Holders (as defined in "Terms and Conditions of the Notes - Form, Denomination,
Title and Redenomination") including Euroclear Bank SA/NV ("Euroclear") and the depositary bank for Clearstream Banking S.A. ("Clearstream") or in registered
dematerialised form (au nominatif) and, in such latter case, at the option of the relevant Noteholder (as defined in Condition 1(c)(iv)), in either fully registered form (nominatif
pur), in which case they will be inscribed either with the relevant Issuer or with the registration agent (designated in the relevant Final Terms) for the relevant Issuer, or in
administered registered form (nominatif administré) in which case they will be inscribed in the accounts of the Account Holders designated by the relevant Noteholders.
Materialised Notes will be in bearer materialised form only and may only be issued outside France. A temporary global certificate in bearer form without interest coupons attached
(a "Temporary Global Certificate") will initially be issued in connection with Materialised Notes. Such Temporary Global Certificate will be exchanged for definitive
Materialised Notes in bearer form with, where applicable, coupons for interest attached on or after a date expected to be on or about the 40th day after the issue date of the Notes
(subject to postponement as described in "Temporary Global Certificates issued in respect of Materialised Notes") upon certification as to non U.S. beneficial ownership as more
fully described herein.
Temporary Global Certificates will (a) in the case of a Tranche intended to be cleared through Euroclear and/or Clearstream, be deposited on the issue date with a common
depositary on behalf of Euroclear and/or Clearstream and (b) in the case of a Tranche intended to be cleared through a clearing system other than or in addition to Euroclear and/or
Clearstream or delivered outside a clearing system, be deposited as agreed between the Issuers and the relevant Dealer (as defined below).
As at the date of this Base Prospectus, Casino has a long-term debt rating of BB+ and a short-term debt rating of B by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services ("S&P") and a Ba1
corporate family rating (CFR) and a NP short-term rating by Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's"). Unless otherwise specified in the relevant Final Terms, Notes to be issued
under the Programme with a maturity of 12 months or more will be rated BB+ by S&P and Ba1 by Moody's. Unless otherwise specified in the relevant Final Terms, Notes to be
issued under the Programme having a maturity of less than 12 months will be rated B by S&P and NP by Moody's. As of the date of this Base Prospectus, S&P and Moody's are
established in the European Union and registered under Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2009 on credit ratings agencies, as amended (the "CRA Regulation") and are included in the
list of credit rating agencies registered in accordance with the CRA Regulation published on the European Securities and Markets Authority's website
(www.esma.europa.eu/page/List-registered-and-certified-CRAs). The relevant Final Terms will specify whether or not such credit ratings are issued by a credit rating agency
established in the European Union and registered under the CRA Regulation. Credit ratings are subject to revision, suspension or withdrawal at any time by the relevant rating
organisation. Where an issue of Notes is rated, its rating will not necessarily be the same as the rating assigned to Notes issued under the Programme. A rating is not a
recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to suspension, change or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency.
Amounts payable under the Floating Rate Notes may be calculated by reference to EURIBOR or LIBOR which are respectively provided by the European Money Markets
Institute ("EMMI") and ICE Benchmark Administration Limited ("ICE"). As at the date of this Base Prospectus, the EMMI and ICE do not appear on the register of
administrators and benchmarks established and maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority pursuant to Article 36 of the Benchmark Regulation (Regulation
(EU) 2016/1011) (the "Benchmark Regulation"). As far as the Issuers are aware, the transitional provisions in Article 51 of the Benchmark Regulation apply, such that EMMI
and ICE are not currently required to obtain authorisation or registration.
The Final Terms of the relevant Notes will be determined at the time of the offering of each Tranche and will be set out in the relevant Final Terms.
Arranger
Deutsche Bank
Dealers
BNP PARIBAS
Crédit Agricole CIB
Deutsche Bank
HSBC
J.P. Morgan
NATIXIS
NatWest Markets
Santander Global Corporate Banking
Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking

The date of this Base Prospectus is 17 January 2018

This document (together with any supplements to this document published from time to time (each a
"Supplement" and together the "Supplements")) constitutes two base prospectuses for the purposes of Article 5.4
of the Prospectus Directive: (i) the base prospectus for Casino in respect of Notes to be issued by Casino under
this Programme and (ii) the base prospectus for Casino Finance in respect of Notes to be issued by Casino
Finance under this Programme, in respect of, and for the purpose of giving information with regard to, Casino
and its respective consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates as a whole, including Casino Finance (together with the
Issuers, the "Group" or "Casino Group") which is necessary to enable investors to make an informed assessment
of the assets and liabilities, financial position, profit and losses and prospects of the Issuers.
No person has been authorised to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained
in this Base Prospectus in connection with the issue or sale of the Notes and, if given or made, such information
or representation must not be relied upon as having been authorised by Casino or Casino Finance or any of the
Dealers or the Arranger (each as defined in "General Description of the Programme"). Neither the delivery of this
Base Prospectus nor any sale made in connection herewith shall, under any circumstances, create any implication
that there has been no change in the affairs of Casino or Casino Finance, as the case may be, or those of the
Group since the date hereof or the date upon which this Base Prospectus has been most recently amended or
supplemented or that there has been no adverse change in the financial position of either Casino or Casino
Finance, as the case may be, or that of the Group since the date hereof or the date upon which this Base
Prospectus has been most recently amended or supplemented or that any other information supplied in
connection with the Programme is correct as of any time subsequent to the date on which it is supplied or, if
different, the date indicated in the document containing the same.
The distribution of this Base Prospectus and the offering or sale of the Notes in certain jurisdictions may be
restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this Base Prospectus comes are required by the Issuers, the
Dealers and the Arranger to inform themselves about and to observe any such restriction.
The Notes and the Guarantee have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other
jurisdiction of the United States and may include Materialised Notes in bearer form that are subject to U.S. tax
law requirements. Subject to certain exceptions, the Notes may not be offered or sold or, in the case of
Materialised Notes in bearer form, delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S.
persons. The Notes are being offered and sold in offshore transactions outside the United States to non-U.S.
persons in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act ("Regulation S").
The Notes have not been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state
securities commission in the United States or any other U.S. regulatory authority, nor has any of the foregoing
authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Notes or the accuracy or the adequacy of
this Base Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.
MIFID II PRODUCT GOVERNANCE / TARGET MARKET The Final Terms in respect of any Notes will
include a legend entitled "MiFID II Product Governance" which will outline the target market assessment in
respect of the Notes and which channels for distribution of the Notes are appropriate. Any person subsequently
offering, selling or recommending the Notes (a "distributor") should take into consideration the target market
assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market
assessment in respect of the Notes (by either adopting or refining the target market assessment) and determining
appropriate distribution channels.
A determination will be made in relation to each issue about whether, for the purpose of the MiFID Product
Governance rules under EU Delegated Directive 2017/593 (the "MiFID Product Governance Rules"), any Dealer
subscribing for any Notes is a manufacturer in respect of that such Notes, but otherwise neither the Arranger nor
the Dealers nor any of their respective affiliates will be a manufacturer for the purpose of the MIFID Product
Governance Rules.
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PROHIBITION OF SALES TO EEA RETAIL INVESTORS If the Final Terms in respect of any Notes include
a legend entitled "Prohibition of Sales to EEA Retail Investors", the Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or
otherwise made available to and, with effect from such date, should not be offered, sold or otherwise made
available to any retail investor in the EEA. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or
more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (ii) a customer within the
meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (as amended, "IMD"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional
client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II. Consequently, no key information document required
by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the Notes or
otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or
selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the
PRIIPS Regulation.
This Base Prospectus does not constitute an offer of, or an invitation by or on behalf of Casino or Casino Finance
or the Dealers or the Arranger to subscribe for, or purchase, any Notes.
The Arranger and the Dealers have not separately verified the information contained in this Base Prospectus.
None of the Dealers or the Arranger makes any representation, express or implied, or accepts any responsibility,
with respect to the accuracy or completeness of any of the information in this Base Prospectus. Neither this Base
Prospectus nor any other financial statements are intended to provide the basis of any credit or other evaluation
and should not be considered as a recommendation by any of Casino, Casino Finance, the Arranger or the
Dealers that any recipient of this Base Prospectus or any other financial statements should purchase the Notes.
Each potential purchaser of Notes should determine for itself the relevance of the information contained in this
Base Prospectus and its purchase of Notes should be based upon such investigation as it deems necessary. None
of the Dealers or the Arranger undertakes to review the financial condition or affairs of Casino, Casino Finance
or the Group during the life of the arrangements contemplated by this Base Prospectus nor to advise any
investor or potential investor in the Notes of any information coming to the attention of any of the Dealers or the
Arranger.
In connection with the issue of any Tranche (as defined in "General Description of the Programme"), one of the
Dealers may act as a stabilising manager(s) (the "Stabilising Manager(s)"). The identity of the Stabilising Manager
will be disclosed in the relevant Final Terms.
The Stabilising Manager(s) (or person(s) acting on behalf of any Stabilising Manager(s)) in the applicable Final
Terms may over-allot Notes or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the Notes at a
level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilising Agent
(or person(s) acting on behalf of a Stabilising Manager) will undertake stabilisation action. Any stabilisation
action may begin on or after the date on which adequate public disclosure of the final terms of the offer of the
relevant Tranche of Notes is made and, if begun, may be ended at any time, but it must end no later than the
earlier of 30 days after the issue date of the relevant Tranche of Notes and 60 days after the date of the allotment
of the relevant Tranche of Notes. Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted by the relevant
Stabilising Manager(s) (or person(s) acting on behalf of any Stabilising Manager(s)) in accordance with
applicable laws and rules.
In this Base Prospectus, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, references to "", "Euro",
"EUR" or "euro" are to the single currency of the participating member states of the European Union which was
introduced on 1 January 1999, references to "£", "pounds sterling", "GBP" and "Sterling" are to the lawful
currency of the United Kingdom, references to "$", "USD" and "U.S. Dollars" are to the lawful currency of the
United States of America, references to "¥", "JPY", "Japanese yen" and "Yen" are to the lawful currency of
Japan, references to "PLN" or "Polish zloty" are to the lawful currency of the Republic of Poland and references
to "Swiss francs" or "CHF" are to the lawful currency of the Helvetic Confederation.
In this Base Prospectus, any discrepancies in any table between totals and the sums of the amounts listed in such
table are due to rounding.
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SUPPLEMENT TO THE BASE PROSPECTUS
If at any time Casino and/or Casino Finance shall be required to prepare a supplement to this Base Prospectus pursuant to the
provisions of Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive, Casino and/or Casino Finance will prepare and make available an
appropriate supplement to this Base Prospectus, which in respect of any subsequent issue of Notes to be listed on the official
list of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and admitted to trading on the Regulated Market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
or on an EEA Regulated Market, shall constitute a supplement to the Base Prospectus for the purpose of the relevant
provisions of the Prospectus Directive.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
RISK FACTORS ................................................................................................................................................................. 5
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE .................................................................................................... 22
PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE PROSPECTUS ........................................... 27
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME .................................................................................................... 28
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE NOTES .............................................................................................................. 34
TEMPORARY GLOBAL CERTIFICATES ISSUED IN RESPECT OF MATERIALISED NOTES ............................ 69
USE OF PROCEEDS ........................................................................................................................................................ 71
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUERS AND THE GUARANTOR ..................................................................................... 72
A. DESCRIPTION OF CASINO AS ISSUER AND GUARANTOR .............................................................................. 72
B. DESCRIPTION OF CASINO FINANCE AS ISSUER................................................................................................ 76
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ........................................................................................................................................... 78
DESCRIPTION OF THE GUARANTEE ......................................................................................................................... 87
TAXATION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 90
SUBSCRIPTION AND SALE .......................................................................................................................................... 92
FORM OF FINAL TERMS............................................................................................................................................... 95
GENERAL INFORMATION ......................................................................................................................................... 108

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RISK FACTORS
RISK FACTORS RELATING TO CASINO, GUICHARD-PERRACHON, CASINO FINANCE AND THE
GROUP
The relevant Issuer and the Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance with the Guarantee of Casino,
believe that the following factors may affect their ability to fulfil their obligations under the Notes issued under the
Programme. All of these factors are contingencies which may or may not occur and the relevant Issuer and the
Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance with the Guarantee of Casino, are not in a position to express
a view on the likelihood of any such contingencies occurring. The risk factors may relate to the relevant Issuer and the
Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance with the Guarantee of Casino, or the Group.
In addition, factors which are material for the purpose of assessing the market risks associated with Notes issued under
the Programme are also described below.
The relevant Issuer and the Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance with the Guarantee of Casino,
believe that the factors described below represent the principal risks inherent in investing in Notes issued under the
Programme, but the inability of the relevant Issuer and the Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance
with the Guarantee of Casino, to pay interest, principal or other amounts on or in connection with any Notes may occur
for other reasons and the relevant Issuer and the Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance with the
Guarantee of Casino, do not represent that the statements below regarding the risks of holding any Notes are
exhaustive. The risks described below are not the only risks the relevant Issuer and the Guarantor, in the case of Notes
issued by Casino Finance with the Guarantee of Casino, face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to
the relevant Issuer and the Guarantor, in the case of Notes issued by Casino Finance with the Guarantee of Casino, or
that they currently believe to be immaterial could also have a material impact on its business operations. Prospective
investors should also read the detailed information set out elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this Base
Prospectus and the Final Terms of the relevant Notes and reach their own views prior to making any investment
decision. In particular, investors should make their own assessment as to the risks associated with the Notes prior to
investing in Notes issued under the Programme.
Subject to the above provisions, the Group has reviewed the main risks that could have a material impact on its
operations, financial position or results. These risks are described below.
FINANCIAL RISKS
The main risks associated with the Group's financial instruments are market risks mainly currency, interest rate and
equity risks and counterparty and liquidity risks.
Financial risk monitoring and management is the responsibility of the Corporate Finance department, which is part of
the Group Finance department. This team manages all financial exposures in coordination with the finance departments
of the Group's main subsidiaries and is also responsible for management reporting systems. It has issued good practice
guidance governing all financing, investment and hedging operations carried out by Group business units.
The Group uses derivative financial instruments such as interest rate swaps and forward currency transactions to
manage its exposure to interest rate changes and currency risks. These instruments are mainly over-the-counter
instruments transacted with first-class bank counterparties. A majority of these transactions or instruments qualify for
hedge accounting.
However, like many other large corporates, the Group has the possibility of taking very small, strictly controlled
speculative positions as part of its hedging policy, for more dynamic and flexible management of its interest rate
positions.
A breakdown of derivative financial instruments by type of risk and accounting classification is provided in note 11.5.1
to the 2016 consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence (incorporated by reference
herein).
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Market risks
Interest rate risk
The Group is exposed to interest rate risk on financial liabilities and its liquidity position. More specifically, the Group's
interest-bearing debt (see note 11.2 to the 2016 consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de
Référence (incorporated by reference herein)) exposes it to interest rate fluctuations, which impact its finance costs.
The Group's objective is to optimise borrowing costs by efficiently managing its exposure to the risk of interest rate
changes. Its strategy therefore consists of dynamically managing debt by monitoring and, where necessary, adjusting its
hedging ratio based on forecast trends in interest rates.
Interest rate risks are managed using various derivative instruments, mainly interest rate swaps. Group financial policy
consists of managing finance costs by combining variable and fixed-rate derivatives. Although these instruments do not
always qualify for hedge accounting, they are all selected in line with the Group's interest rate risk management policy.
Casino, Guichard-Perrachon debt is mainly composed of fixed-rate bonds (5,981 million at 31 December 2016
excluding accrued interest). This bond debt may be converted to floating rate using swaps generally set up when the
bonds were issued. All of the swaps qualify for hedge accounting.
As of 31 December 2016, Casino, Guichard-Perrachon had a portfolio of 30 interest rate swaps with around fifteen bank
counterparties with scaled maturities between 2021 and 2026, representing floating rate exposure on a notional amount
of 3,022 million. As at 31 December 2016, 49% of Casino, Guichard-Perrachon's debt was fixed rate and 51% floating
rate.
An analysis of sensitivity to changes in interest rates is provided in note 11.5.2 to the 2016 consolidated financial
statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence (incorporated by reference herein).
Currency risk
Information about currency risk is provided in the notes to the consolidated financial statements (see note 11.5.2 to the
2016 consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence (incorporated by reference herein)).
Due to its geographical diversification, the Group is exposed to currency translation risk. In other words, its statement of
financial position, income statement, and consequently its financial ratios, are sensitive to changes in exchange rates
used to translate the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries outside the euro zone. In 2016, the currencies of most of
the countries in which the Group operates fell significantly against the euro compared to 2015, with declines in the
average rate for the year of 4.0% for the Brazilian real (-15.7% in 2015) and 9.7% for the Colombian peso (-13.0% in
2015). In 2016, the currency effect reduced net sales and trading profit by 3.2% and 4.6%, respectively. Currency risk is
not hedged.
The Group is also exposed to transaction risk on transactions denominated in currencies other than the euro. The
Group's policy for managing transaction risk consists of hedging highly probable budgeted exposures. These mainly
concern purchases made in a currency other than the subsidiary's functional currency, particularly purchases in US
dollars hedged by forward currency purchases. Substantially all budgeted purchases are hedged using instruments with
the same maturities as the underlying transactions. All financial liabilities denominated in a currency other than the
borrower's functional currency are fully hedged through currency derivatives.
An analysis of the sensitivity of net exposure (after hedging) to currency risk is provided in Note 11.5.2 to the 2016
consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence (incorporated by reference herein).
Equity risk
At 31 December 2016, the Group did not hold any significant interests in listed companies other than its subsidiaries or
treasury shares.
The Group may use derivative instruments (e.g. total return swaps with no call option, forward contracts and call
options) on equities to build a synthetic economic exposure to the shares of its listed subsidiaries (see note 11.3.2 to the
A35577541
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2016 consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence (incorporated by reference herein)).
The carrying amount of these instruments corresponds to their estimated value as provided by a financial institution on
the closing date. These values take account of market data such as exchange rates, share prices and interest rates.
The Group's cash management policy consists of investing solely in money market instruments that are not exposed to
equity risk.
Commodity risk
Given the nature of its business, the Group is not exposed to any material commodity risk.
Counterparty and credit risk
The Group is exposed to counterparty risks on its operating, short-term investing and interest rate and currency hedging
activities. It monitors these risks regularly, using several objective indicators, and diversifies its exposure by dealing
with the least risky counterparties (based mainly on their credit ratings and their reciprocal commitments with the
Group).
The Group's policy for managing customer credit risk consists of checking the financial health of all customers applying
for credit. Trade receivables are regularly monitored and the Group's exposure to default risk is not material. Trade
receivables are analysed in note 11.5.3 to the 2016 consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de
Référence (incorporated by reference herein).
The age of overdue receivables that are not qualified as impaired may vary substantially depending on the type of
customer, i.e. private companies, consumers or public authorities. Provisioning policies are determined on a debtor-by-
debtor basis according to customer type. The Group believes that it is not exposed to any material concentration of
credit risk.
Regarding credit risk on the Group's other financial assets mainly comprising cash and cash equivalents, available-
for-sale financial assets and certain derivative financial instruments the exposure of the Group linked to the risk of
failure by the counterparty to fulfil its obligations is limited, with a maximum exposure corresponding to the accounting
value of the instruments. The Group's cash management policy consists of investing cash and cash equivalents with
various first-class counterparties and in investment-grade instruments.
Liquidity risk
The Group's policy is to ensure, as far as possible, that it always has sufficient liquid assets to settle its liabilities as they
fall due, in either normal or impaired market conditions.
The main liquidity risk management methods consist of:
-
diversifying sources of financing to include capital markets, private placements, banks (confirmed and
unconfirmed facilities), commercial paper programmes and discounting facilities;
-
diversifying financing currencies to include the euro, the Group's other functional currencies and the
US dollar;
-
maintaining at all times confirmed financing facilities that significantly exceed the Group's liabilities;
-
limiting annual debt repayments and proactively managing debt maturities;
-
managing the average maturity of debt and, where appropriate, replacing facilities before they fall due.
This liquidity analysis is performed both at the Casino, Guichard-Perrachon holding company level (taking into account
the funds available in the cash pool managed on behalf of all wholly-owned French companies) and at the level of each
of the Group's international subsidiaries.
In addition, the Group sells receivables on a non-recourse basis without any continuing involvement, within the
meaning of IFRS 7 as well as conducting reverse factoring transactions.
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Most of the Group's debt is carried by Casino, Guichard-Perrachon and is not secured by collateral. Financing is
managed by the Corporate Finance department. Several subsidiaries (GPA, Monoprix and Éxito) also have their own
financing sources. This financing is not secured by collateral and is not underwritten by Casino (except for GPA loans
to BNDES totaling 17 million at 31 December 2016 that are secured by security interests in the financed assets and a
guarantee from Wilkes, which is indirectly 50%-owned by Casino and 50% by Éxito).
All subsidiaries submit weekly cash reports to the Group and all new financing facilities require prior approval from the
Corporate Finance department.
At 31 December 2016, the Group's liquidity position comprised:
-
undrawn confirmed credit facilities totaling 4,342 million (including 3,759 million for France);
-
available cash of 5,750 million.
Casino Guichard-Perrachon has a 9,000 million euro medium-term notes (EMTN) programme. Issuance under this
programme totaled 5,981 million as of 31 December 2016 and 5,614 million as of 31 December 2017.
The Company also has a 2,000 million commercial paper programme. Issuance under the programme amounted to
522 million as of 31 December 2016 and 209.5 million as of 31 December 2017.
The Group's bank loans and debt issues are subject to the usual pari passu, negative pledge and cross default clauses.
In addition, most of Casino, Guichard-Perrachon's bank facilities include a clause providing for immediate repayment in
the event of a change of control of the Company.
Casino, Guichard-Perrachon's bond issues (except for two perpetual deeply subordinated notes issues) include a rating
trigger that would allow investors to require early repayment if its senior long-term debt were to lose its investment-
grade rating (or its non-investment grade rating were to be downgraded) due to a change of control (i.e., due to an
investor other than Rallye or a company related to Rallye acquiring over 50% of Casino's voting rights). They also
contain a step-up clause whereby the interest rate on Casino, Guichard-Perrachon's senior long-term debt would be
increased by 125 bps per year if the credit rating of such senior long-term debt were to be downgraded to non-
investment grade. If activated, this clause would apply gradually from the annual interest payment date that followed the
announcement of the rating downgrade.
The bond issues (other than perpetual deeply subordinated notes issues) are currently rated Ba1 by Moody's and BB+
by Standard & Poor's. The downgrade by Standard & Poor's from BBB- to BB+ triggered the step-up coupon. The
step-up is gradual and applies to each issue as from the first annual interest period beginning after 21 March 2016. The
impacts of this clause are described in Note 2 and Note 11.5.4 to the 2016 consolidated financial statements.
At 31 December 2016, the Company's debt was subject to the following covenants:
Covenant
Financing subject to covenant
Frequency of
Ratio at
compliance tests
31 December 2016
Consolidated net debt(1) / 1.2 billion syndicated credit line
consolidated EBITDA(2) <3.5 USD 1 billion syndicated credit line
annually
Bilateral credit lines and borrowings
2.4
totaling 950 million
Consolidated net debt(1) / Bilateral credit lines totaling 50 million
consolidated EBITDA(2) <3.7
annually

(1) Net financial debt as defined in the loan agreements may differ from net debt presented in the consolidated financial
statements (see note 11.2 to the 2016 consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence
(incorporated by reference herein)). It corresponds to financial liabilities less cash and cash equivalents, as increased or
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reduced by the net impact of fair value hedges of debt with a positive or negative fair value.
(2) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) corresponds to trading profit plus net
depreciation and amortisation expense.

The Group considers that it will have no difficulty in complying with its covenants over the next twelve months.
Note that Casino, Guichard-Perrachon's bonds and commercial paper are not subject to any financial covenants.
Most of the Group's other loan agreements contain financial covenants and mainly concern GPA, Éxito and Monoprix
(see table below).

Subsidiary
Type of covenant
Frequency of
Type of debt subject to covenant
compliance tests
Annually
370 million syndicated credit line
Monoprix
Net debt/EBITDA <2.5
Other confirmed credit lines totaling 240
million
Net debt(2) < equity(3)
Quarterly/
half-yearly/
Consolidated net debt/consolidated annually
All bond issues and some bank facilities
GPA(1)
EBITDA <3.25

Annually
Bank facilities (Note 11.2.3 to the
Consolidated net debt/consolidated
consolidated financial statements included
Éxito
EBITDA 3.5
in the 2016 Document de Référence
(incorporated by reference herein))
(1) All of GPA's covenants are based on consolidated indicators.
(2) Debt less cash, cash equivalents and receivables.
(3) Consolidated equity (attributable to owners of the parent and non-controlling interests).

These covenants were complied with at 31 December 2016.
The debt repayment schedule at 31 December 2016 (undiscounted principal and accrued interest), is presented in note
11.5.4 to the consolidated financial statements included in the 2016 Document de Référence (incorporated by reference
herein).
Banque du Groupe Casino's liquidity risk is monitored under the liquidity policy of the CMCIC Group (50% joint
owner with Casino). The bank's liquidity position is therefore assessed based on CMCIC Group standards and early
warning indicators, as well as regulatory ratios.
The main objectives of liquidity risk management processes are to:
-
ensure that the bank has secure sources of refinancing by preparing monthly projections of cash surpluses and
requirements based on a comparison of committed financing facilities and customer loan forecasts;
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