The Italian multinational Coricelli has decided to increase its purchase offer for Deoleo to 500 million euros, positioning itself above the offers presented by the Spanish companies Dcoop and Acesur, and has also requested to have exclusivity in the negotiation until the operation is completed.
Specifically, the oil company of Pietro Coricelli reacted after receiving a week ago the communication from KPMG, one of the advisors of the process along with William Blair, which left it out of the bidding for the manufacturer of Carbonell and Bertolli. In response, on August 15, during the Italian 'ferragosto', it presented a counteroffer of 500 million euros, thus surpassing the 470 million euros proposed by Dcoop and the 460 million from Acesur, according to the Italian newspaper 'Italia Oggi', cited by Europa Press.
Along with the economic improvement of its proposal, which exceeds the figures put on the table by the Spanish companies, Coricelli would have demanded to have "exclusivity in the negotiation" until the definitive closing of the transaction, a condition that could receive the green light throughout this day, according to sources familiar with the process indicated to Europa Press.
The sale process of the owner of brands such as Koipe and Carbonell has intensified in recent weeks and is expected to conclude in September. The funds CVC and Alchemy, which control 50.9% and 40.3%, respectively, of the capital of Deoleo, confirmed that they are studying various strategic alternatives for their investment, among which they contemplate the "possible total sale" or "part of their assets and businesses," as they communicated to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Deoleo clarified that, as of August 19, "no definitive decision had been made" and emphasized that it was unaware whether the process, "currently underway," would lead to a "concrete operation nor, if applicable, the terms in which this could be carried out."
Expectations surrounding the operation have strongly boosted the shares of the Spanish olive oil multinational. Last Wednesday, its shares rose by up to 25.14%, while this Friday, at 12:38 p.m., they fell by 2.08%, standing at 0.47 euros per share.
A key sector for the Spanish economy
In this scenario, CCOO has claimed that the future buyer of Deoleo guarantees stable and quality employment, as well as industrial roots in the community. The union bets on the entry of an investor who prioritizes national capital projects and rejects the arrival of funds or rivals that may compromise the reputation of the product and job security.
The general secretary of CCOO Industry of Andalusia, José Hurtado Quirós, has urged the Administration to activate the regulations on foreign investments to protect the productive capacity of the olive oil sector against speculative funds, just as the Government already acted in the case of Talgo, when the takeover bid from the Hungarian group Ganz-MaVag (Magyar Vagon) on the Spanish company was blocked.
Sources from Dcoop consulted by Europa Press have requested that the final buyer of this operation be "aligned with quality and the fight against fraud," and have warned that "it would be bad for Spain to lose leadership in such a strategic sector."
For his part, the mayor of Córdoba, José María Bellido, has spoken about the possible acquisition of Deoleo by Dcoop and has pointed out that "if it can stay in the land, all the better," adding that he "thinks it's good, obviously, because it is a cooperative from the land" and a "giant of the sector."
In this line, Bellido has emphasized that "behind a great cooperative and that company, there are many small producers who are the ones who then contribute their product to those companies or cooperatives." "Many families live off the work provided by those small producers, so we have a lot at stake and obviously we will be there to help," he has stressed.