Not only migrants. The challenge between Spain and Italy shifts to olive oil. Deoleo shares are weak today on the Madrid Stock Exchange, after the recent weeks’ rally – as reported by Radiocor – in what the Spanish press has already called the “olive oil battle between Spain and Italy,” with the Italian Coricelli and two Spanish companies engaged on opposite sides. The Deoleo group’s stock, which controls the Bertolli, Carapelli, Carbonell, and Koipe brands, fell 2.7% to 0.4670 euros around 2 p.m., but over five sessions the rise is nearly 43% and about 160% since the beginning of the year.
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According to operators, the share price is weighed down by rumors reported by “elEconomista” that the possibility that “Deoleo could end up in Italian hands has triggered alarms in the Madrid government.” “According to sources close to the operation, there is concern in the Ministry of Agriculture about the possibility that the company will be acquired by the Italian Coricelli, which is willing to pay 500 million euros and has thus surpassed the offers presented by both the Andalusian cooperative Dcoop and Acesur, the company owning Coosur and La Española,” writes “elEconomista.”
For Spain, olive oil is a strategic agri-food product, and Deoleo is also a very important player in the US market, so they want to avoid decision-making power transferring to Italy, the newspaper emphasizes. On the other hand, to avoid the possibility of a veto by Moncloa, the Coricelli group launched its offer through the holding Farmers Elite Global, which has been domiciled in Seville for years and owns, among other companies, Aceites Abasa, the newspaper further indicates, explaining that the company, led by Lorenzo Coricelli, shifted its operations from Italy to Spain some time ago and insists that the management of Deoleo will not only continue here but also commits to maintaining all jobs.
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However, there is concern in the sector, and some have already asked the government to activate the so-called anti-takeover shield to guarantee the ‘Spanishness’ of the company. Born in 2020 during the pandemic, the shield requires prior authorization for certain investments involving the acquisition of significant stakes or control of companies considered sensitive.
On Thursday, “elEconomista” reported that the Coricelli group increased its offer for Deoleo to 500 million euros, thus surpassing Dcoop’s proposal, which offered 460 million, and the other offer presented by Acesur. Deoleo limited itself to confirming in the afternoon in a statement to the CNMV that both CVC and Alchemy are studying the sale of their stakes, respectively 50.9% and 40.3%, without mentioning potential buyers. According to the group, the funds “are analyzing possible strategic alternatives regarding their investment, including the possible sale of all or part of the assets and activities of the Deoleo group.” Sources close to the operation – reported “elEconomista” yesterday – assure that, pending new developments, everything indicates that Coricelli could sign an exclusivity agreement in the coming days to close the deal.
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