Italian, Spanish Bidders Vie for Control of Olive Oil Giant Deoleo

Deoleo, the Spanish company considered the world’s largest bottler and marketer of branded olive oil, is nearing a potential change of control as its principal shareholders consider competing takeover bids.

A buyer would gain control of some of the world’s best-known olive oil brands, including Bertolli, Carapelli, Carbonell and Hojiblanca.

Deoleo traces its roots to 1955, when it was founded in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao as Arana Maderas. Today, the company is headquartered in the Madrid region.

According to company data, Deoleo bottles about 158 million liters of olive oil annually, with its brands sold in dozens of countries. Bertolli is its most valuable and best-selling brand globally, accounting for a significant share of the company’s revenue.

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In 2025, Deoleo held an estimated 8.3 percent of the global packaged olive oil market, comfortably ahead of competitors including Bunge and Bright Food.

The company’s two principal shareholders, investment firms Alchemy Partners and CVC Capital Partners, together control about 70 percent of the group. The investors have been considering an exit after years of restructuring, debt reduction and consolidation of Deoleo’s operations.

A range of major food and olive oil companies initially showed interest in the business, including Italy’s Pietro Coricelli and Bonifiche Ferraresi, France’s Lesieur, Australia’s Cobram Estate Olives and Spanish firms Dcoop and Acesur.

In recent weeks, however, the process has increasingly become a contest between Spain and Italy for control of the Spanish company and its portfolio of historic Italian and Spanish brands.

Italian food company Pietro Coricelli has emerged as the leading bidder with an offer valuing Deoleo at about €500 million, according to Spanish media reports.

Dcoop, an agri-food cooperative and Spain’s largest olive oil producer, reportedly submitted a €470 million offer, while Acesur has bid about €460 million. Bonifiche Ferraresi has also remained among the final interested parties.

Price may not be the only factor determining the outcome. Coricelli has a comparatively limited presence in Spain and the United States, potentially creating fewer competition concerns than a takeover by Dcoop or Acesur, both of which already have significant positions in markets where Deoleo operates.

Deoleo has endured significant financial difficulties over the past decade. In 2017, amid warnings in the Spanish press that the company was on the brink of dissolution, it reported losses of €179 million.

The crisis prompted a restructuring that included the sale of a bottling facility in Antequera, Spain, and a reduction of about 15 percent of the company’s workforce.

In 2024, Deoleo reported a €54.5 million loss, compared with a €34.3 million loss in 2023. The result was significantly affected by litigation in Italy over a tax dispute involving its Carapelli subsidiary.

The company returned to profitability in 2025, reporting net income of approximately €20 million as olive oil production normalized, consumption recovered, and operating conditions improved.

See Also: Deoleo North America CEO Says Sustainability is Key to Growing Olive Oil Sector

Meanwhile, Spanish officials have made clear that they would prefer Deoleo to remain under domestic ownership.

Sources within Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food told Europa Press that the government is closely following the sale because of Deoleo’s importance to the country’s agri-food sector.

According to the news agency, ministry sources said they favored an outcome that preserves Spanish industrial interests while ensuring that the interests of the country’s olive growers are “strictly” respected.

The regional government of Andalusia has expressed a similar preference. Agriculture Minister Ramón Fernández-Pacheco said officials hope the company remains in Spanish hands and, if possible, under Andalusian ownership.

CCOO Andalucía, the region’s largest labor union, has also urged authorities to act with a high degree of institutional coordination to protect the olive oil sector’s value chain and safeguard employment.

The union called on the Spanish government to use its powers under foreign investment rules if necessary to prevent a transaction that could jeopardize employment or industrial activity in Andalusia.

Bidding closed at the end of August, and the controlling shareholders and their advisers are expected to select a preferred proposal before entering exclusive negotiations. An agreement could be reached in September, although any transaction would remain subject to regulatory and competition approvals.