Daniel Kretinsky: "If France pursues policies hostile to capital and entrepreneurs, it will pay a very heavy price"
A key shareholder in TotalEnergies, Editis, Casino and Fnac Darty, and a media investor, the Czech businessman warns of the threats weighing on the country's attractiveness. He also believes that European countries have "strong tendencies toward self-destruction."
One year before the presidential election, Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, one of the leading foreign investors in France, stresses the importance of continuing Emmanuel Macron's pro-business policy.
DANIEL KRETINSKY. — Contrary to a widespread idea, our ambition is not to manage decline, but to seek growth in energy, large-scale retail and logistics. What these sectors have in common is the essential nature of the services provided to citizens, where our obsession is to offer the best service at the best price. We are looking for both organic growth and consolidation operations. EPH is the energy company that has had the strongest growth in Europe. Our priority is the proper execution of our strategies in the companies in which we are the controlling shareholder and those in which we have announced our intention to become so. New acquisitions are possible in energy and parcel logistics, where we bought Relais Colis last week. But we have no ambition to invest in new businesses, except where appropriate as a minority shareholder. This is the case everywhere and of course in France, a country for which I have very great affection.
Is investing in media (Marianne, Franc Tireur, Libération, TF1, T18…) a way of establishing yourself within the French establishment or of influencing public debate?
It is first and foremost a citizen's commitment in favor of liberal democracy, pluralism and honest information. Our democracies are weakened by the rise of populism, fostered and amplified by the hyper-power of digital platforms. They have destroyed public debate and contest the very existence of objectivity and truth, the distinction between the true and the false. Independent media have this essential function of resisting this wave and proposing an alternative, rational and pluralistic vision of public affairs. That is the first reason for our investments: not to support our interests, but to defend the values we believe in.
In the way we conceive of these businesses, shareholder interventions do not exist, except to ensure respect for democratic values and journalistic ethics. What matters is guaranteeing honest information and adversarial debate. I believe in checks and balances: an all-powerful shareholder is dangerous, but so is an all-powerful editorial team. The absolute power of anyone whatsoever is never good for freedom of thought and for journalists' individual freedom of expression.
TotalEnergies, of which you are the second-largest shareholder (4.1% of the capital), finds itself at the center of controversy. Do you understand these attacks?
I observe in European countries, including France, strong tendencies toward self-destruction. We wrongly believe that we are the center of the world and that we alone decide our destiny. While our two main competitors, the United States and China, do everything to strengthen their key companies, which already dominate the global market, we do everything to weaken our few world champions. We have largely destroyed the major energy companies in Europe, and we are in the process of destroying our automakers and our chemical industry. Do you think that targeting the major European oil and gas producers is intelligent? While the United States is doing everything to strengthen ExxonMobil, Chevron and Conoco, France is thinking about how to destabilize Total, through taxation, threats of nationalization… Do you think American companies will support French consumers the way Total does with its cap on prices at the pump? Do you think that if there is a disruption in oil deliveries, they will give priority to French consumers? With a strong Total, France enjoys security of supply. Over-taxation measures would compromise investment, without which no country can prosper. Do you think investors will choose a country that penalizes success? Admittedly, the temporary taxation of windfall profits is not the Zucman tax, which would mark the economic end of France. But the debate must be very prudent and the conclusions very reasonable. 75% of Total's profits come from abroad. An aggressive strategy would threaten the vital interests of France.
Why are you launching a takeover bid for Fnac Darty, of which you are the leading shareholder (28.5%)? To prevent the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com from taking control of it?
We entered Fnac Darty's capital in 2021 because we have confidence in the strategy and management of the company led by Enrique Martinez. We became their partners for the acquisition of the Italian chain Unieuro: the international share thus rose from 20% to 40% of revenue, and the expected synergies exceed 20 million euros. The takeover bid is part of this continuity and aims to make this French brand a European champion.
Brussels is investigating a possible vertical concentration, since you own Editis, France's second-largest publisher. Do you fear the Commission will demand concessions?
If our offer succeeds, there will be no integration between Editis and Fnac. They will remain two separate companies, with their own management, sales teams and objectives. We religiously respect the commitments made when we acquired Editis. Economic logic makes favoritism absurd. Fnac Darty represents only 14% of Editis's sales. It would be irrational to penalize the other networks that make up 86% of our sales. Fnac Darty's strength rests on the diversity of its offering and on consumers' confidence in its neutrality. Fnac Darty is in fierce competition with Amazon and the Chinese platforms. Service to consumers must be flawless, and the breadth of the assortment is one of its main assets. Since Editis has belonged to our group, the commercial terms granted to Fnac Darty have remained unchanged. Lagardère controls Hachette Livre and the Relay network: yet no one observes any structural distortion of the book market.
The French publishing world has been in turmoil since the ousting of Olivier Nora from Grasset. Could Editis take advantage of this crisis to recover successful authors and editors?
I will not comment on, much less criticize, the actions of Hachette, a competitor of Editis and a supplier to Fnac. Olivier Nora is a very fine person, and I wish him to continue playing a key role in the publishing world, of which he is one of the great figures. At Editis, the independence of editors is sacred, except if they violate the law or essential democratic values. All our editors and authors will confirm this to you. We entered media and publishing with a long-term logic. We intend, alongside Denis Olivennes, to be the colleagues of book-industry players for a long time and to fight alongside publishers within the National Publishing Union (Syndicat national de l'édition) and its president, Vincent Montagne, and alongside booksellers, toward whom Editis has an exemplary policy, particularly regarding discounts and payment terms. The bookstore is the lung of publishing, and publishing is one of the vital organs of the French cultural exception.
Do you understand the concerns raised by Vincent Bolloré in publishing, cinema and the media?
Don't count on me for personal attacks. The management philosophy in the Bolloré group is different from ours. But the publishing and media landscape in France is very competitive, and no one is forced to work with a particular house, whether Hachette or Editis. Good editors, good authors and good journalists can make the choices that suit them.
In food retail, can Casino survive with such a small market share?
What matters is the relevance of the positioning, the coherence of the model and the ability to generate value for its consumers. On these three dimensions, Casino today has an effective answer. The plan of its very high-quality management team, run by Philippe Palazzi, in whom I have great confidence, focuses on convenience retail in three buoyant markets (food shopping, takeaway dining and new everyday services) toward which consumption is shifting. The plan provides for the renovation of all Monoprix stores and the rollout of the new Franprix concept across 800 stores, work undertaken with our franchisee entrepreneurs. We are in the right place, at the right time, with fine brands, the right strategy and the right teams. Now we need to have the financial structure that allows us to clear this major step of growth for the group.
As a shareholder of more than 51% of Casino, you are currently negotiating with its creditors. Some fear that you will abandon the group if you were to lose control of it.
The situation is not easy for investors, shareholders, hedge funds and the creditors of the portion of the debt that is less secured than the banks. We all invested on assumptions that turned out to be far from reality. The group's valuation and the amount of the debt are therefore not sustainable. We face the imperative of accepting reality—that is, significant financial losses—in order to protect the company, which deserves to prosper, because its business model is durable and sustainable. I accept that shareholders are subordinated to creditors and must bear the losses first, but the total abandonment of Casino's capitalization is not enough. Creditors must behave responsibly and accept reality and the current value of the group. French law has the means to impose a solution to protect the company. I can reassure all of Casino's customers, employees and partners, franchisees, suppliers and credit insurers: the group is not under threat. It is prosperous, stable and supported by its partner banks. Its balance sheet will be rebalanced either by an agreement or by a court decision. We are ready to invest considerable sums, of several hundred million euros, sufficient to secure Casino's future. There is a solution on the table that guarantees its future.
A few years ago, you believed that Emmanuel Macron was a stroke of good fortune for France. As the situation deteriorates in the country, do you see a possible presidential candidate who would be a good thing for France?
The artificial intelligence revolution is only at its beginning and will bring growth worthy of the Trente Glorieuses for the countries that know how to take advantage of it. But you still have to put yourself in a position to do so. France has benefited from the policy of its president, who has won over investors with his rational policies. This made it possible to spare France the economic decline of Germany. That is to President Macron's credit. I find it unfair that he gets no recognition for this major contribution. I wish for France that this policy of attracting capital and talent continues. It is vital. Competition is global and fierce, with the leading world powers brutally defending their economic interests and those of their companies. If France reacts with policies hostile to capital, to talent and to the motivation of entrepreneurs, it will pay a very heavy price. I hope we will avoid this scenario. If you want to share wealth, you first have to create it.
