The rumors of Savencia’s interest in Ilolay have been going on for a long time, but it was during the Sial in Paris, which took place last week, when messages and mails started to arrive in Rafaela, assuring that this time the thing is serious and there would be an interesting offer on the table.
As we were able to find out from EDN, the negotiations continued this week and at this moment in France they are finalizing the details of a negotiation that still has a long way to go but that can be announced soon.
Savencia, a giant growing in the world
Savencia Fromage & Dairy, called Bongrain until 2015, is a French food company specializing in cheese production. Brands include Saint Agur Blue, Saint Albray, Etorki, Alouette and Pié d’Angloys. According to the Rabobank ranking, it is the 12th largest dairy processor in the world and this year will have a turnover of 6.6 billion dollars.
It currently employs 22,000 people in companies in 120 countries around the world. In South America, it has assets in Brazil and Chile, in addition to Argentina.
In Argentina, it is the owner of Milkaut and also owns a portfolio of well-known brands such as Santa Rosa, Adler, Bavaria, Ile de France, Caprice de Dieux and Saint Agur, in addition to being importers of García Baquero, a Spanish cheese brand.
Ilolay restructured its 1.3 billion pesos debt last year and owns three factories located in the heart of Santa Fe’s dairy basin in the towns of Arrufó, Bella Italia and El Trébol, which process approximately 540 million liters of milk per year.
This restructuring included six banking entities: BBVA, Galicia, Macro, Santander, HSBC and Nuevo Banco de Santa Fe, which represented almost the total indebtedness of the company.
The agreed terms implied the extension of maturities for five years until 2026, with an initial grace period and concentrated principal amortizations at maturity.
This grace period has already ended and the financial demands are gradually increasing, so the timing of such a negotiation was foreseen in the domestic dairy market.
If the acquisition is completed, the new company would process more than 2 million liters of milk per day and would be in third place among the processors behind Saputo and Mastellone.
