People walk past a Casino supermarket in Nice, France, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Files

French retailer Casino said in a statement it had launched a process to sell its renewable energy unit GreenYellow with a view to a potential transaction by the end of the year.

On Friday, French financial daily Les Echos reported that French energy giant TotalEnergies and power company Engie are eyeing the acquisition of GreenYellow, valued at around 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion).

Casino - which said its statement was in response to market rumours reported by the press - said that no binding offer has been received by Casino to date, and no final decision had yet been made on this project.

Les Echos reported last week that Casino, which owns 76% of GreenYellow, had appointed Rothschild and four other banks for the sale of the company.

GreenYellow - which produces low-cost electricity and helps lower companies' power consumption - said in February it had raised around 200 million euros to support future growth.

Casino, which last month reported that group sales had returned to growth in the first quarter, has also embarked on selling off non-core assets to cut its debt in recent years.