The founding family of Freixenet sells its stake in the cavista to Henkell

BarcelonaThe founding family and the former honorary president of the Freixenet cava producer, José Luis Bonet, have agreed to sell their remaining stake in the company to the German group Henkell, which will thus control all of the capital, as Freixenet itself announced in a statement on Tuesday. "After eight years of close cooperation, the Ferrer family and José Luis Bonet have sold the remaining shares of Freixenet by mutual agreement to Henkell Freixenet, which will thus become the sole owner of Freixenet as of March 2, 2026," the statement reads. The price of the transaction has not been disclosed. Henkell acquired a stake in the cava producer Based in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (Alt Penedès), Henkell Freixenet acquired 50.7% of the shares from various branches of the Ferrer family, descendants of the winery's founders, for approximately €220 million. Since then, the company has been led by Andreas Brokemper as co-CEO alongside Pere Ferrer, who will now become honorary chairman of the company, a position previously held by Bonet, to whom he is a first cousin. "The sale of our shares marks an emotional moment for us. As two family businesses that share the same values, we have found in Henkell Freixenet a trusted partner who will preserve our legacy while leading the company into the future," Ferrer stated in the press release. The businessman will remain involved in the wine sector through his personal company, Ferrer Wines.

For his part, Brokemper will continue to lead Freixenet, which thus becomes a brand wholly owned by Henkell, itself the wine subsidiary of the multinational food company Geschwister Oetker, headquartered in the German city of Bielefeld. "We greatly value the trust that the Ferrer and Bonet families have placed in us. It is an honor to take over Freixenet and the full responsibility of successfully developing the company into the future," declared the German executive.

Henkell's entry, a turning point

The acquisition of shares marked a turning point in Freixenet's history, which since its founding had been controlled solely by successive generations of the founding family. The company matured in the 1970s, under the leadership of Josep Ferrer Sala, who stepped down in 2024. Ferrer Sala expanded the family winery to become Spain's leading producer of sparkling wines and one of the largest in Europe, as well as being a key figure in the establishment of the Cava designation of origin. During his tenure, Freixenet became a globally recognized brand, thanks in part to its Christmas advertising campaigns, and fueled its international expansion through the acquisition of wineries in other countries.

Ferrer Sala retired in 1999 and passed the torch to the next generation: the presidency went to his nephew, José Luis Bonet, and the CEO position to his son, Pere Ferrer. Despite his retirement, he remained involved with the company and played a decisive role in the 2018 negotiations with Henkell. During the Process, Bonet, who has presided over the Spanish Chamber of Commerce since 2014, garnered headlines for his criticisms of the pro-independence partiesAlthough Freixenet maintained its headquarters in Catalonia after the referendum.

In the years following Ferrer Sala's retirement, tensions between various branches of the family grew, although They were eventually resolved with the sale of the shares in the German companyTwo years after Ferrer Sala's death, his descendants have finally divested themselves of the capital still held by the family.

"We have shared a deep understanding of tradition, quality, and continuity. Over the past eight years, our relationship, based on trust and collaboration, has evolved into a unified team with a shared vision committed to developing the Freixenet brand and the company towards the founders of Hepero among the sustainable future," Brokem stated. "Henkell Freixenet's acquisition will not only ensure the continuity of Freixenet, a company renowned for its tradition, but will also help maintain its excellence and accelerate its expansion as a major international brand," Bonet added.

However, Henkell's management has not been without its tensions: in the spring of last year, the group's workforce went on strike following the announcement of a workforce reduction plan (ERE) presented by Freixenet's management, which anticipated the dismissal of 180 employees, a 24% increase. After a few days of negotiations, the unions and the company reached an agreement. They agreed to reduce the number of departures to 154.which would be early retirements and voluntary redundancies.

The main argument for presenting the workforce reduction plan was the impact of the drought on grape production, but at the same time, the workers' representatives pointed out that there was a change in the company's production model, which began to produce a new sparkling wine with grapes from Castilla-La Mancha in order to maintain more rigorous quality and production standards. Previously, Henkell had already had moved the production of other wines to Germany.