Spanish business buys $27m stake in Russia's Cherkizovo
Grupo Fuertes has paid around $27m for an extra 3% stake in Cherkizovo, bringing the Spanish company’s total investment in the Russian pork and poultry producer to $77m.
It is unclear why MB Capital Europe, Cherkizovo’s majority shareholder, decided to sell around 1.8m shares that were individually valued at $14.60 each. But the business has now decreased its share by 2.89%, although it still retains the largest stake in Cherkizovo, which claims to be one of the biggest meat processors in Russia.
Cherkizovo and Grupo Fuertes are well-acquainted business partners. They entered into a joint venture in 2012 to run a turkey plant in Tambov. The factory hit full capacity earlier this year and produces around a fifth of the turkey meat on the Russian market, although the two companies want to supply half the turkey on the market.
Grupo Fuertes had a stake in Cherkizovo that was approximately 5% before it bought over 1.9m shares in the London Stock Exchange-listed business this week.
Grupo Fuertes claims to be one of Spain’s largest agricultural holdings and manages around 20 agri-food companies, covering aspects of the food chain including meat and poultry, seafood, dairy, bottled water, crops and wine.
