(Adds details on next steps, context)
SAO PAULO, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil supermarket chain
Assai said on Tuesday its controlling shareholder
French food retailer Casino has started "preliminary"
work to potentially sell part of its stake in Assai for around
$600 million.
The company said in a securities filing that no final
decision has been made on the potential transaction, which would
take the form of a secondary public offering, and that "may or
may not be launched depending on market conditions."
It added that Casino has engaged Banco BTG Pactual S.A.,
Banco Bradesco BBI S.A., Banco Itau BBA S.A. and Banco J.P.
Morgan S.A. to analyze the terms of the potential transaction.
Last
November
, Casino launched a stake sale in Assai as part of its
general debt-cutting plans.
At that time, Casino said it was looking to sell 140.8
million Assai shares, representing 10.44% of its capital.
(Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Peter Frontini; Editing by
David Alire Garcia and Isabel Woodford)
