Takeover duel at Ercros: Chemicals stock soars after Italian bid greenlights

BarcelonaErcros' stock market share soared this Friday after the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) yesterday gave the green light, subject to conditions, to the public takeover bid (OPA) presented for the Catalan chemical company by the Italian group Esseco. The move gives the Italians an advantage over Bondalti. Competition.

The rally in Ercros shares, up nearly 7% as of midday, has led the Barcelona-based company to lead the continuous market, which integrates the Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, and Bilbao stock exchanges into a single stock market. Esseco submitted an offer to acquire all of Ercros' shares in June 2024, which remained pending until yesterday, when the CNMC accepted the offer subject to compliance with a series of conditions.

A fifteen-day period now opens for the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, to decide whether to submit the competition resolution to the Council of Ministers, which would have one month to take a position. This is a similar process to the takeover bid presented by BBVA for Sabadell, which was ultimately submitted to the Council of Ministers, which imposed on the Biscayan bank the condition of keeping the business separate for three to five years.

The Portuguese company Bondalti's takeover bid is still in its second phase, awaiting approval or rejection by the Competition Authority, although it submitted its takeover bid in March 2024, a month and a half before Esseco. The difference between the two offers is that the Italian group offered €3.60 per share, while the Portuguese company offered slightly more, €3.84 per share. Furthermore, the two companies have different products involved in the transaction: while Bondalti and Ercros share the same production of caustic soda and sodium hypochlorite—the former used to make soaps and detergents, and the latter used as disinfectant bleach—Esseco produces liquid potash, solid potash, and carbonate. Despite the differences, both offers—unsolicited by the Catalan company—aim to remove Ercros from the listed company market.

The CNMC's green light to the latter implies that it has imposed conditions to preserve competition should the takeover go ahead. This position, beyond allowing a further step in the Italians' path, also leaves the ball in its court to make the required changes. For the moment, Esseco has already said it will make a decision on the operation once yesterday's CNMC resolution is effective or amended by the Council of Ministers.