Grupo Argos said no to Gilinski, declined to participate in the takeover bid for Sura and Nutresa

For the third time, the board of directors of the Argos Group decided not to sell its shares to the Gilinski group and its subsidiaries, in the takeover bid they hold to increase their participation in the Sura and Nutresa Group. This was announced this Thursday, April 21.

The Argos Group reported that “taking into account the technical and strategic analyses presented by J.P. Morgan and other advisors, among other considerations, the Board of Directors of Grupo Argos decided not to participate in the takeover bid for Grupo Sura or the takeover bid for Grupo Nutresa.”

Although they did not express the reasons that led them to keep their shares and not enter the sale, they assured that they will continue to accompany the two companies in “the initiatives announced by these companies aimed at maximizing value for all shareholders, among which the linking of strategic partners stands out.”

Through the statement, they said that “Grupo Argos reiterates its commitment to its shareholders so that they are the ones who perceive the fundamental value of the company and its investment portfolio.”

The extraordinary meeting to take the decision was made up of five members of the Board of Directors, who according to Argos represent more than 81% of the group's shares. Ana Cristina Arango and Claudia Betancourt, members of the Shareholders' Meeting, participated in them. Gonzalo Alberto Pérez, president of Grupo Sura, and Carlos Ignacio Gallego, president of Grupo Nutresa, were excluded.

Grupo Argos owns 27.72% of the shares in Grupo Sura, according to the newspaper El Colombiano, and in Nutresa it holds 9.86%. The bidders, Gilinski and Nugil, seek to acquire between 9.6% and 12% of the shares of the Nutresa group.

During the meeting of the board of directors last Tuesday, April 19, businessman Jaime Gilinski asked shareholders to consider the possibility of selling their stake in the Nutresa Group, which corresponds to 9.83%. For the renowned banker, the company would obtain revenues of 2.13 billion pesos that would be beneficial to both the bank and its members.

However, the answer was negative, as in the previous three takeovers launched by the family of bankers to have greater participation in the companies of the Antioqueno Business Group. In the last one, Argos had rejected the offer because it considered that the prices offered were lower than the fundamental value of the two companies.”

It is noteworthy that with the second takeover bid, the Gilinski Group achieved a historic event by changing the composition of the Antioquia Business Group (GEA) by obtaining a 31.5% stake in Sura through JGDB Holding and 30.81% in Nutresa through Nugil, also a subsidiary of the conglomerate.

At the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting of the Sura Group, no decision was taken on the takeover bid for Nutresa. Five of the seven members of the Board openly expressed conflict of interest with respect to this stock market movement.

According to information provided by Bloomberg Colombia, the company's partners agreed not to authorize the five members mentioned above to make decisions on the takeover bid, with the remaining two being responsible for deciding on this situation: María Carolina Uribe and Jaime Bermudez.

In the case of the takeover bid for Nutresa, the Gilinski Group extended the deadline for acceptances until May 16, but in the case of Sura it maintained the closing date for April 25. In the first, they aim to increase their participation by more than 40% of the titles available.

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