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2014 Registration Document
Comments on 2014 fiscal year
4
Other information
Acquisitions in Italy
On June 30, 2014, Carrefour announced that it had entered into an
agreement with the Rewe Group to acquire 53 Billa supermarkets located
in northern Italy. The supermarkets represent a total retail surface area
of 58,000 sq.m. and generated revenue of some €300 million excluding
VAT in 2013.
The transaction was completed on September 11, 2014, once
the regulatory approvals had been obtained and Billa’s employee
representatives had been consulted. In accordance with IFRS 3,
provisional goodwill of €64 million was recorded in the Consolidated
Financial Statements at December 31, 2014.
On November 21, 2014, the Group announced the acquisition of
17 Il Centro stores, including sixteen located in Florence and Arezzo
provinces and one in La Spezia province. All of these stores will be
converted to the Carrefour Express convenience brand. The transaction
is in line with Carrefour’s multi-format strategy and will enable the Group
to strengthen its presence in north central Italy. The impact on the
Consolidated Financial Statements was not material.
2013 dividend reinvestment option
At the Annual General Meeting held on April 15, 2014, shareholders
decided to set the 2013 dividend at €0.62 per share with a dividend
reinvestment option.
The issue price of the shares to be issued in exchange for reinvested
dividends was set at €26.10 per share, representing 95% of the
average of the opening prices quoted on NYSE Euronext Paris during
the 20 trading days preceding the date of the Annual General Meeting,
less the net amount of the dividend of €0.62 per share and rounded up
to the nearest euro cent.
The option period was open from April 24 to May 15, 2014. At the end
of this period, shareholders owning 64.55% of Carrefour’s shares had
elected to reinvest their 2013 dividends.
May 28, 2014 was set as the date for:
■
settlement/delivery of the 10,929,717 new shares corresponding to
reinvested dividends, leading to a total capital increase of €285 million
(share capital and premiums);
■
payment of the cash dividend to shareholders who chose not to reinvest
their dividends, representing a total payout of €149 million.
Bond issue and buybacks
On July 15, 2014 the Group issued €1,000 million worth of eight-year
1.75% bonds maturing in July 2022.
At the same time, two outstanding issues representing an aggregate
€318 million were retired, as follows:
■
€97 million outstanding from a €763 million 4.375% issue maturing
in November 2016;
■
€221 million outstanding from a €500 million 5.25% issue maturing
in October 2018.
The transaction consolidated the Group’s long-term financing at the
very attractive interest rates currently available in the market. It led to:
■
a €682 million increase in the face value of the Group’s bond debt;
■
optimized future borrowing costs due to an issue at a historically low
interest rate;
■
an extension of the average maturity of bond debt, from 3.7 years to
4.2 years (an increase of 0.5 years) as from July 15, 2014.