CVC Capital tables $603 mn bid for Spanish olive-oil producer Deoleo

Spanish olive-oil producer Deoleo SA today said that British private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners' offer for a controlling stake in the company is the best of the several offers it has received in the auction.

CVC has tabled a €0.38 per share offer, valuing the Madrid Stock Exchange-listed company at €438.8 million ($603 million).

The offer is less than Deoleo's yesterday's closing price of €0.43.

Deoleo said it is currently discussing details about the offer with CVC, and ''at this moment there's no confirmation that a final deal will be reached or when a deal will be agreed upon.''

Four Spanish banks, including Bankia SA, Caixabank SA, Kutxabank and BMN, holding a total of around 32 per cent, had hired JP Morgan Chase to help find a buyer for their stakes.

Under Spanish law, the buyer purchasing more than 30 per cent must make a full takeover offer for all of the outstanding shares of the company.

According to some media reports, other bidders included private-equity firms Rhone Capital, PAI Partners and a consortium comprising of Italy's state-backed strategic sovereign fund Fondo Strategico Italiano and Qatar Holding, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar.

The Spanish government has said that it would hold a minority stake in Deoleo since it is one of the largest exporters of olive oil.

Spain is the world's biggest olive oil producer and competes with Italy.

Deoleo owns brands that are within the top three market leaders for bottled olive oil in the US, Italy, Canada and Germany, and also owns popular Italian brands Bertolli, Carapelli and Sasso, which it had acquired a few years ago.

Deoleo, formerly SOS Corporacion Alimentaria SA, produces vegetable oils, including sunflower seed and olive oils and has brands such as Carbonell, Bertolli, Carapelli, Koipe and Sasso.

It also produces a range of table olives, condiments and confectionary products, as well as special by-products from the olive-oil process.