German firm Henkell buys majority stake of Freixenet
Catalan world-class cava producer no longer under control of a family
One of the best-known Catalan cava producers, Freixenet, is changing hands. After talks lasting two years, the current owners of the firm confirmed the sale of 50.7% of their shares to the German firm Henkell –a branch of Dr. Oetker Group–. After three generations being owned by the same family, dating back to its establishment in 1889, Freixenet will be now part of a bigger group. According to some media, sekt producer Henkell paid 220 million euros to take control of the iconic Catalan brand.
Some of the firm’s major stakeholders held a meeting on Friday with Henkell and announced the operation on Saturday. According to sources in the family, this operation won’t affect the family structure or its philosophy. One of the owners who rejected selling his shares, Freixenet’s president Josep Maria Bonet Ferrer, said that Henkell “is a partner with view of the future.” Indeed, the German wine trader committed to make the Catalan brand even more international by signing an international cooperation agreement with the two branches of the family which have kept their shares.
535 million euros of turnover
Three branches of the same family owned the company since now. The Hevia Ferrer branch sold their 29% of the total shares of Freixenet, while the Bonet Ferrer sold 21.75% of the company, which adds up the majority of the shares. Only one member of this branch, Josep Maria Bonet Ferrer, did not want to sell his 7.3% of the shares. The third branch, the Ferrer Noguer, kept its 42% of the shares.
In 2017, the cava producer’s turnover was 535 million euros, with 8.4 million euros in profit. The company's headquarters remained in Catalonia after the political turmoil in the country last autumn, which made some Catalan emblematic companies move their seat out of the country.