“Shares of Swiss chocolate giant surge on news of potential privatizationShares of Barry Callebaut rose 8.2% in early trading in Zurich following reports of privatization talks. The main shareholder, the
Jacobs family, was considering such a possibility, consulting with CVC Capital Partners Plc.
”, — write: unn.ua
DetailsSwiss company Barry Callebaut has become the world’s largest bulk chocolate producer, supplying cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and ganache to both industrial and artisan chocolatiers. The pink chocolate, which attracted a lot of attention a few years ago, was its brainchild.
Now this indispensable intermediary in the world of chocolate is going through one of its most difficult periods. How it emerges from it will affect chocolate supplies and, ultimately, prices, the publication writes.
Barry Callebaut shares rose 8.2% in early trading in Zurich on Friday, with trading volumes approximately eight times the average for this time of day.
Today, Barry Callebaut shares are the most traded in Switzerland: about a quarter of its free-float shares are held by investors betting on a decline. Although the company’s shares have recovered in recent weeks, market volatility has raised concerns among investors who questioned whether the company, valued at about 6 billion francs ($7.5 billion), would eventually go private. According to sources familiar with the situation, its main shareholder – the Jacobs family, a Swiss chocolate dynasty – had previously considered such a possibility, including consulting with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Plc.
There are several reasons for the crisis. Rising financing costs and a change in management have affected the company’s results, but it has been particularly hard hit by the sharp rise in cocoa prices.
These two years have been difficult for chocolate makers after crop failures in West Africa, the main production region. Rising costs have led to an increase in smuggling, several bankruptcies in Europe, and intensified merger and acquisition talks among large food companies. Some manufacturers have even started considering producing chocolate without cocoa.
Nevertheless, the good news is that the global cocoa crisis is finally easing thanks to a good harvest in Latin America and falling demand. This week, prices reached an 11-month low.