Acesur and Dcoop Win Auction to Acquire Deoleo

✦ Meridian Analysis

The consortium of Spanish oil‑seed groups Acesur and Dcoop has signed an agreement to acquire 100 % of Deoleo, the owner of Carbonell and Bertolli, after winning the auction launched by the company’s controlling shareholders CVC and Alchemy. The deal, valued at roughly €500 million, follows a competitive process in which the Italian group Coricelli and the Spanish bidder Migasa also submitted binding offers. William Blair acted as financial adviser to the sellers, and the consortium’s bid was favoured for its higher closing certainty and the preservation of Spanish control over a brand considered strategic by the government. From a mechanics perspective the transaction is a full‑share purchase that will transfer ownership from the private‑equity sponsors to the buyer consortium, with the existing debt – now €86 million after the refinancing that left BlackRock and JPMorgan as the main creditors – remaining on the balance sheet. The leverage ratio sits at about 1.7 × EBITDA. Deal professionals will be watching for the final purchase agreement, including the exact price and any earn‑out or contingent consideration that has not been disclosed. Details on the financing package, the identity of any co‑lenders beyond the existing BlackRock‑JPMorgan facilities, and the timeline for regulatory clearances and shareholder approvals remain to be confirmed.

The Meridian Weekly