Spain: Agroiris and Ejidoluz, one step away from completing merger

The Agricultural Transformation Society Agroiris and Andalusian Cooperative Society Ejidoluz closed the process of negotiations to merge, an integration that would place the company chaired by José Luque Villegas as one of the leading companies in the horticultural sector in Almería in terms of volume marketing and billing.

The end result was still unknown at time of publishing because the assemblies convened by both parties for the final approval of a transaction were not over. 

Business relationships between Ejidoluz and Agroiris date back to 2006 when they entered into a trade agreement in which they first sold exclusively the entire production of the second. Ejidoluz was producing more than 30 million kilos of fruit and vegetables, with sales between 20 and 25 million Euro.

Agroiris' Extraordinary General Assembly started at 21:30. The analysis of the merger agreement was the seventh point in the agenda; with the reading and approval of the baselines provided to members about the Ejidoluz integration.

In addition, 600 members of Agroiris called to vote also approved the annual financial statements for the year 2011-2012, as well as modifications corresponding to the new operational program for the period 2014-2018.

If confirmed, the merger between Ejidoluz and Agroiris would be added to those already undergone by the company in 2010 and in 2011 when they acquired Campoalmería and Mayba, companies with which they also had marketing agreements for seven years.

This summer, Agrioris almost reached a joint marketing agreement with Unica Group and Femago that would have meant the launch of a platform for the sale of 400 million kilos, 13% of the provincial total, but, after weeks of meetings and talks, they failed to reach an agreement.

Headquartered in El Ejido, Agroiris sold more than 180 million kilos last season, with a turnover of around 200 million Euro.

Source: Elalmeria