Casino investors' hopes for CDS payout dashed again

LONDON (Reuters) - A panel that reviews disputes in the credit default swaps (CDS) market said on Friday that a 'failure to pay' credit event had not occurred in relation to Casino Guichard Perrachon , dashing investors' hopes for a payout on the company's CDS.

The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determination Committee (CDDC) met on Thursday to discuss the question raised by an investor, it said on its website.

The French retailer had announced on May 26 it entered court-backed talks with creditors in a process known as conciliation.

In making its decision, the committee noted that a majority of investors in Casino's 2026 and 2027 bonds had agreed to waive the default resulting from the start of the conciliation, and to rescind any acceleration of the notes, which would trigger immediate repayment. Given the notes had not been accelerated, no failure to pay event occurred, the committee concluded.

On Monday, the committee ruled in a separate decision that a bankruptcy credit event had also not occurred for Casino replying to a previous question raised by an investor.

There were $428 million of net notional Casino CDS outstanding as of May 19, according to DTCC data.

On Thursday, debt-laden Casino and smaller peer Teract announced the end of their exclusive tie-up talks.

Meanwhile, a trio of French businessmen readied to make a new offer to find a lasting solution to the group's financial woes.

This would come in the form of a dedicated vehicle, dubbed "3F" - shorthand for founders, friends & family - starting with 300 million euros ($322.68 million) and seeking to raise money from Casino's creditors to bring the sum to a little over 1 billion euros.

The 3F plan competes with an offer from Casino's second-largest shareholder Kretínsky, who in April proposed to take control of the supermarket chain through a 1.1 billion euro capital increase.

($1 = 0.9297 euros)

(Reporting by Chiara Elisei, editing by Karin Strohecker and xxx)