The sale of Freixenet to German group Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG is advancing slowly but surely. According to the website EconomiaDigital.es, shareholders have given the green light to move forward with Henkell's offer, which was discussed by the firm's administrative council last month.
However, the offer's acceptance doesn't automatically mean that the sale is completed. The next step is for Henkell to receive access to the business's books and facilities. The German conglomerate will now have the opportunity to examine Freixenet's accounts and decide if it plans to stand by its original offer, which valued the Catalonian company at approximately €500 million.
Getting to this stage wasn't an easy task for Henkell, which needed the support of Freixenet's president, José Luis Bonet, or that of his sister, Pilar, in order to advance to this stage.
Henkell already boasts bigger sales than Freixenet (€700 million versus €500 million, approximately). It is part of the larger Oetker Group, which reports annual sales of €11 billion. Despite owning brands in different categories within the food and beverage industry, Henkell's main area of business is in sparkling wines.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Gabriela Guédez. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
