Mexican Sigma Alimentos could acquire Campofrio

Mexican group Sigma Alimentos, part of the Alfa conglomerate, wants to acquire Spanish meat processor Campofrio, which also has operations in Romania. According to Sigma officials, quoted by the international press, the Mexican company has already concluded agreements to acquire 44.5 % of the shares of Campofrio - of which 24.25% from the shareholder Oaktree Capital, 4.17% from lender La Caixa and 12.4% from the CEO of the Spanish company, Pedro Ballve -, at a price that was not disclosed.

Reuters also notes that the people of Sigma have offered the current chairmant the possibility to buy back his shares if the takeover succeeds as well as the right to keep his position for another five years, by becoming CEO of the Sigma group.

The corporation is bidding 6.80 Euros per share, to Chinese company Shuanghui International, which owns 37% of the share capital of Campofrio.

The Chinese have recently announced their intention to divest 7% of their stake in Campofrio, which they gained ownership of when they acquired processor Smithfield Foods (ed. note: Campofrio and Smithfield Foods Europe merged in 2008).

Campofrio produces cold cuts in 25 plants in Europe and the US, which makes it the biggest meat producer on the European continent. By acquiring this company, Sigma would enter the European market, after it has expanded to Latin America and the US, Bloomberg notes. The same source states that the potential buyer has submitted a request for approval of the bid to the financial market regulator in Spain.

According to a press release by the Alfa conglomerate, over the last 12 months Campofrio saw sales of 1.92 billion Euros, whereas Sigma's sales amounted to 3.72 billion dollars.

Bankers quoted by Reuters consider that the Campofrio brand presents no interest to Chinese consumers and that Shuanghui is probably more interested in integrating Smithfield Foods.

Campofrio reported a drop in profits of 2.9 % compared to last year, whereas net debts exceed 470 million Euros.

In Romania, Campofrio Food Group has merged with producer Caroli Food Group in 2010, creating a joint-venture called Caroli Foods Group, which operates both in Romania and in the neighboring countries - Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.

Caroli Foods Group owns 51% of the shares of the newly created company, while Campofrio Food Group owns the remaining 49%. The joint-venture between Caroli and Campofrio led to the creation of a local company with a market value of approximately 60 million Euros.