France-based supermarket chain Groupe Casino (Casino) has decided to sell its residual equity stake in Brazilian retailer Assai to strengthen its liquidity.

The 157 million common shares represent 11.7% of Assaí’s share capital.

The value of the shares has not been disclosed, but Casino said that it will inform the market of the result of such a process.

In a statement, Casino said: “The sale will be implemented through an accelerated book building, executed by the Sao Paulo stock exchange (B3), in accordance with the applicable rules on this marketplace.”

The announcement comes a few months after the food retailer raised €723.2m ($769.85m) by selling 254 million Assai shares, representing 18.8% of Assaí’s share capital, to reduce its debt.

Following this sale, Casino could no longer control Assaí.

Recently, Casino also entered into an agreement with the French government to defer payment of the group's tax and social security liabilities.

This is part of the court-backed negotiations the retailer initiated with its creditors last month.

Last week, the retailer confirmed that it had received a preliminary letter of intent (LOI) from a group of investors to help strengthen its capital position.

In its first quarter financial result posted last month, Casino reported consolidated net sales of €5.4bn ($5.8bn), which increased 1.0% on a same-store basis.

The retailer had consolidated net debt of €6.4bn ($6.9bn) as of the end of fiscal year 2022, up from €5.9bn ($6.4bn) in 2021.