Dcoop and Acesur to Buy Olive-Oil Rival Deoleo in €520m Deal

Dcoop and Acesur have agreed to buy olive-oil producer Deoleo in a transaction valuing the owner of the Carbonell and Bertolli brands at €520m ($584.5m).

The deal, confirmed in a stock-exchange filing on 5 November by Deoleo CEO Cristóbal Valdés, will see the two Spanish competitors take an aggregate 91.99% stake in Deoleo Holding, the company's core subsidiary. Each buyer will own 50% of that holding company. Other shareholders are expected to agree to the transaction, which could lift the stake being sold to 100%.

Who are the buyers?

Dcoop, a co-operative that claims to be the world's largest producer of olive oil, turns over €600m a year from its olive-oil business, according to its website. The co-op also has interests in livestock, cereals and wine.

Acesur is family-owned, headquartered in Seville, and owns the La Espanola olive-oil brand. It operates factories across Spain and has a presence in the UK, France, the Baltic states, the US and China. Its sales reportedly dropped by more than a quarter last year to €1.11bn.

Madrid-headquartered Deoleo, the target, operates factories in Spain and Italy and generates annual sales of more than €800m.

What does the deal change for producers?

In a joint statement, Dcoop and Acesur said the acquisition would "help strengthen the entire value chain, creating new opportunities for producers, supporting the economic sustainability of olive growing and helping new generations to find a future in the sector".

Dcoop president Antonio Luque went further on the social rationale: "We want families who have been involved in olive growing for generations to be able to continue making a living from it and to offer a promising future to the next generations of farmers. Increasing global consumption of olive oil is also an opportunity to strengthen our rural communities and our villages."

For Dcoop, the deal links the largest olive-oil producer directly to two of the category's best-known consumer brands, tightening integration from grove to shelf.

What stands between now and closing?

Several approvals remain. The deal needs anti-trust clearance in Spain and the US, plus foreign direct investment authorisation in Italy. Deoleo expects the regulatory process to take "six to eight months".

The transaction also requires approval from Deoleo's general shareholders' meeting. Majority shareholder CVC Capital Partners, which holds 56.96% of the publicly-listed company, has already entered into an "irrevocable undertaking" to vote in favour.

One further condition involves Japanese food group Mizkan. The deal could be derailed if Mizkan notifies Deoleo in writing within two months that it is terminating any of the Bertolli trademark licence agreements as a result of the change in control.

Why this bid won

The proposed takeover comes three months after Deoleo said its two biggest investors were reviewing their shareholdings.

According to the filing, the Dcoop-Acesur bid was chosen on price, on a "lower execution risk" compared with other offers, and on the expected timetable. Deoleo described the offer as "fully funded" and subject to a "limited number of conditions precedent".

Deoleo's numbers behind the deal

Deoleo's first-half revenue fell 8.7% year-on-year to €393.2m, but net profit surged to €19.4m from €1.7m a year earlier as the company recorded "positive momentum" across key markets.

For the full year 2025, Deoleo's sales totalled €821m, with EBITDA of €50m and a net profit of €20m — figures that set the €520m price at roughly ten times EBITDA.

If the Mizkan clause, shareholder vote and three regulatory clearances all clear on schedule, Dcoop and Acesur could control the Carbonell and Bertolli brands by mid-2026.