PARIS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's Casino buyout consortium said on Monday that the Paris Commerce court had approved its plan to bail out debt-ridden French retailer under an accelerated protection procedure.

Shareholders in Casino, which was brought to the verge of default by years of acquisitions and recent losses in market share, will be massively diluted under the deal to restructure the debt of France's seventh-largest supermarket group.

"The time has come to give resources and thus a new breath to the Casino Group, resized, reorganized, and debt-free," Kretinsky said in a statement.

The court, which in December 2023 extended the protection procedure by two months to Feb. 25, issued a statement confirming its approval.

Kretinsky's consortium will own and control 53.7% of Casino's share capital under the bail out deal, which calls for 1.2 billion euros of new money to be injected into Casino, as well as a 6.1 billion euro reduction of Casino's debt.

"The road, paved with difficulties, is still long and will require a lot of effort from everyone, but I have no doubt about the success of our mission," he added of the plan, which will end 74-year-old Jean-Charles Naouri's 30-year reign at Casino.

The management team, led by CEO Philippe Palazzi, will implement an "ambitious plan for reorganization, investment, and modernization" at Casino to develop its brands," the consortium made up of EP Equity Investment, Fimalac and Attestor said.

Casino has already reached agreements with French rivals on the sale of 288 supermarkets and hypermarkets in France, leaving it with upmarket brand Monoprix and city-centre stores Franprix. (Reporting by Jean-Michel Belot, Piotr Lipinski; Editing by GV De Clercq and Alexnder Smith)