Greece’s largest food company Vivartia told just-food today (18 July) that it is unworried that its largest shareholder is looking to buy the company outright.
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Marfin Investment Group (MIG) said this morning that it intends to submit an offer for the whole of Vivartia after building its stake in the company to over 50.8%.
The announcement comes just days after MIG took a 30% interest in Vivartia, which was formed last year with the merger of dairy group Delta Holdings and snacks maker Chipita International.
A Vivartia spokesperson said MIG’s initial investment in the company was part of a “strategic alliance” and that the investment firm’s move to buy up more shares is “not hostile”.
“It’s definitely a friendly deal. The management team will remain the same because it’s a winning team,” the Vivartia spokesperson said. MIG does, however, plan to appoint five out of the nine directors to Vivartia’s board.
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By GlobalDataVivartia is market leader in a number of food categories in Greece and has operations in 29 countries. The spokesperson said the company would look to invest further outside Greece.
“We have set aside EUR400m (US$552.5m) for acquisitions under a three-year plan. We have to become a global player; Greece is a small market. Seventy-five per cent of our sales volume is in Greece and we want to get that down to 50% from international sales.”
The spokesperson added that Greek corporate law dictates that MIG has a maximum of 20 days to make a public offer for the rest of Vivartia’s shares.
Officials at MIG could not be reached for comment as just-food went to press.
