(Adds background)
PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) – Cnova NV, the e-commerce arm of French retailer Groupe Casino, plans to raise around 300 million euros ($367 million) in a sale of new shares to fund growth and boost its proportion of freely tradeable stock.
Cnova, the holding company for the Cdiscount website, said on Tuesday it planned to launch the issue by the end of the year.
It added that Groupe Casino intended to remain its majority shareholder.
Cdiscount competes with international groups such as Amazon in France, with a marketplaces-style platform that links up shoppers with third-party vendors selling household goods, electronic equipment and toys.
Its indebted parent Casino, run and controlled by Jean-Charles Naouri, has been looking to boost its profitability and cash flow with asset sales, as well as finding savings through purchasing deals.
Naouri has been looking to ease the debts of both Casino and Rallye, the holding company behind the retailer.
As well as the Cdiscount fundraising, Casino has also said it is considering a stock market listing for its GreenYellow renewable energy arm.
Shares in Casino were up 0.27% in early trading, while Cnova shares were unchanged.
$1 = 0.8174 euros Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Sarah White. Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter
