BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s financial regulator on Monday suspended trading of shares in food producer Nutresa, ahead of a planned public offer of shares launched by Grupo Gilinski, Nutresa’s current majority shareholder.
After several years of tense corporate wrangling, Grupo Gilinski agreed to exit its stake in the country’s largest investment firm Grupo Sura and take at least an 87% stake in Nutresa.
Gilinski along with its partner, IHC Capital Holding LLC, currently controls 76.9% of Nutresa.
The public offer will be for as many as all of Nutresa’s remaining shares, the regulator said in a statement, and trading is suspended until the day after the public announcement of the offer.
The purchase price for shares in Nutresa under the offer will be $12, the statement said. Shares in Nutresa closed at 46,700 pesos ($11.95) on Friday.
Neither Grupo Gilinski nor Nutresa, which operates in 14 countries and produces coffee, chocolates, pasta, ice creams and includes a chain of restaurants, responded to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Sandra Maler)
