The Andalusian cooperative Dcoop considers the validity period of its acquisition offer for Deóleo expired as of August 31, after not having received any response from the current owners, the British funds CVC Capital Partners and Alchemy. These investment vehicles own 50.9% and 40.3%, respectively, of the capital of the oil group, owner of brands such as 'Hojiblanca', 'Carapelli', and 'Carbonell', among others.
From the cooperative Dcoop, they have explained that "as of today, the offers are what is known, the deadline expired on August 31 and there is no news or proposal from the sellers," emphasizing next that "nothing has been communicated and everything is speculation," to add that "logic leads one to think that they are negotiating with Coricelli," the Italian multinational that increased its proposal to 500 million euros, above those proposed by the Spanish Dcoop and Acesur, and that demanded exclusivity in the conversations until the definitive closure of the operation.
In any case, Dcoop has reiterated that they have never hidden their interest in acquiring Deóleo and that, if they could finally complete the purchase, "great," although they acknowledge that "as of today, there are no negotiations." At the same time, they have expressed their concern that the future owner is "aligned in the fight against fraud and the guarantee of quality in oil," warning that, if not, "it will be bad for the sector." They have also emphasized that "if control of the entity is lost in Spain, it is bad for the country."
In this line, they have defended that "more than whether it is a Spanish or Italian company, what matters is that it does not use cheaper refined oils than lampante, nor deodorized oils selling them as extra virgin," a practice that the cooperative has expressly asked the Government to "not allow to happen."
Government's Position on the Sale of Deóleo
In parallel, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas, reiterated last Friday that he would like the eventual buyer of Deóleo to be "Spanish," although he recalled that "obviously this is a private sale that depends on the market of buyers and sellers," so he insisted that "the rules of the game must be respected."
The head of Agriculture made it clear that he does not intend to "interfere in the operation," given that "what is happening at this moment are clearly conversations that are not yet concluded between various companies that want to acquire." In this regard, he pointed out that "we should not prejudge the situations and everything in its time."
Despite this, Planas admitted that "the continuity of industry is a concern and also the preservation of the interests of our olive growers." "That is the greatest concern and, evidently, we are the world's leading producer and we have to defend our interests," he emphasized.
Furthermore, the minister stressed that "everything has to be done based on the current legislation, both Spanish and European," reminding that "we are within the European internal market," and also according "to market conditions, what each of those who want to acquire it offer, and the conditions regarding competition."
Reaction on the Stock Market and Bidding for Control of Deóleo
In the stock market, Deóleo's shares soared by 20% on the trading floor in mid-August, after the offer from the cooperative Dcoop became public, valued at around 470 million euros, as reported. At that time, the shares reached 0.44 euros, which represented a revaluation of 146.67% for the owner of Carbonell so far this year.
However, about ten days later, the same shares recorded a drop of 6.38% in the Continuous Market, coinciding with the statements from the Spanish Government in favor of the eventual buyer being a national capital company.
Sources from Dcoop have indicated that they are "studying the opportunities" that arise in the market, such as that of Deóleo, and have insisted that "the buyer must be aligned with quality and the fight against fraud and that it would be bad for Spain to lose leadership in such a strategic sector."
In this context, the oil mill Pietro Coricelli, after receiving from KPMG, one of the advisors of the process along with William Blair, the communication of its exclusion from the sale procedure of the manufacturer of Carbonell and Bertolli, responded by launching a counteroffer of 500 million euros.
In addition to improving the proposed amount, thus surpassing the proposals of the Spanish companies, Coricelli would have requested to have "exclusivity in the negotiation" until the definitive signing of the transaction.
With these movements, the divestment process in Deóleo has accelerated and it is expected to be completed this month, after the CVC and Alchemy funds confirmed that they are evaluating different strategic alternatives regarding their participation, among which they do not exclude the "possible sale" of all or "part of their assets and businesses," as they communicated to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).