With obvious concern, several small shareholders of the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (GEA) affirmed that they should study whether to accept Jaime Gilinski’s proposal for the titles of Sura and Nutresa, conglomerates that are currently under the second Public Acquisition Offer (OPA) launched by the Valle del Cauca banker
This was evidenced yesterday during the extraordinary meeting of Grupo Argos, where the owners met to determine which members of its Board of Directors had possible conflicts of interest when discussing whether to sell the portion that this company has in Sura (27, 72%) and Nutresa (9.86%).
The shareholders accepted the request made at the beginning of the meeting and voted in favor of Gonzalo Pérez, president of Sura, and Carlos Ignacio Gallego, president of Nutresa, not participating in the future deliberation (see What’s Next).
Taste of resignation
Far from resembling the previous meeting, held on December 3, 2021, yesterday’s became quiet and only a small shareholder raised his voice during the almost two hours that the meeting lasted.
The spirits between the owners subsided and in the atmosphere, as one of the attendees who requested the reservation of her name said, there was a slight taste of resignation.
“Do you remember how the last assembly went? There were many interventions and the interest of the small shareholders in rejecting Gilinski’s offer so that the companies would continue to be from Antioquia might be seen. Today, on the other hand, it seems that we are only here to proceed with a simple procedure”, he exclaimed.
In his case, the GEA shares he owns were a gift from his father and have a high patrimonial and sentimental value. However, now he must consider whether the time has come to sell them, since he understands that once the OPAs are completed, the number of floating titles on the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC) will be reduced and very possibly their value will decrease.
“We expected that at some point a counteroffer would be made or that an external partner would be sought, but unfortunately this has not been the case,” he added.
Another minority, who also requested to keep his name confidential, accepted that the admission of the Gilinski Group to the GEA companies is a reality and, from his point of view, “we must accept that the world has already changed and there are currently more attractive shares in the bag. Even I was thinking of selling before this takeover bid was announced.”
In short, the security holders stressed that their options are running out and, most likely, they will have to accept Gilinski’s offer before their stock packages lose value.
On the other hand, Grupo Argos came out to deny that, during the Assembly, the issue of the strategic partner that Sura and Nutresa are looking for had been mentioned, in response to an article in a media outlet.
“Grupo Argos respectfully calls for this type of information that has an impact on the stock market to be duly verified,” the company notified through the Superfinanciera.
For now, it remains to wait for the determination of the Board of Directors on Gilinski’s offer, although it is worth remembering that in the first takeover bid, Grupo Argos declined to sell its participation
27,72%
of the actions of
sura is in hands
of Grupo Argos.
