Casino to Float E-Commerce Unit Cnova in NY

PARIS--French retailer Groupe Casino on Thursday said it has filed to spin off its global e-commerce business Cnova in an initial public offering in New York.

Casino's board on Wednesday approved the creation of Cnova, which will run the group's e-commerce units in Brazil, Colombia, France, Thailand and Vietnam and will be controlled by Casino, according to a statement.

The company then plans to list the shares of Cnova on the New York Stock Exchange through an IPO.

Cnova recorded $4.9 billion in sales in 2013, Casino said in the statement. The company didn't provide a time frame for the IPO or specify what stake it intends to float. Casino declined to provide a potential valuation of the IPO.

Casino's focus on e-commerce is one of its biggest avenues for growth, along with its presence in emerging markets such as Brazil.

"The success of Cnova will be based on a low-cost business model with attractive pricing and extensive product assortment and highly differentiated delivery and payment solutions," Casino said.

Casino sees its e-commerce activities as complementary to its bricks-and-mortar stores. In France, for instance, its Cdiscount site has become a major dealer in home electronics and appliances, drawing business away from supercenters selling the same items. Yet Casino has also used its stores as a distribution network for e-commerce sales, in what it sees as an advantage over rival Amazon.com Inc.

Write to Inti Landauro at [e-mail]

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