Gilinski Strikes Again in Bid to Upend Colombia Financial Market
Billionaire Gilinski Said to Make Offer for Financial Giant Sura
(Bloomberg) -- Banking billionaire Jaime Gilinski launched an offer of as much as $1.2 billion to take a substantial stake in the financial conglomerate Grupo Sura, just weeks after making a bid to take over a Colombian foodmaker.
Gilinski and his son, Gabriel, are behind the offer of $8.01 per share for as much as 31.68% of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana, announced Tuesday after markets closed. The offer, which represents a premium of more than 27% from the closing price, will go to shareholders after regulatory approval and could close by late this year or early January, according to a person with direct knowledge of the offer.
Gilinski, 63, teamed with the royal family of Abu Dhabi last month in an attempt to take over food producer Grupo Nutresa SA in a deal that could be worth as much as $2.2 billion. The royal family is not a partner in the offer for Sura, the person said. JGDB Holding SAS presented a guarantee for the bid, according to a stock exchange filing. Gilinski appears as the legal representatives of JGDB Holding, according to Colombia’s company registry.
The price “offers a slight upside from the fundamental value of the company,” Credicorp Capital analysts Steffania Mosquera and Bianca Venegas wrote in a note.
Sura, Nutresa, Grupo Argos along with other Medellin-based companies make up the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño, or GEA, a business association that employs a system of cross investments to fend off takeover bids. If Gilinski is successful in taking over Nutresa, he will have control of the 13% stake the company owns in Grupo Sura. Sura, in turn, owns a 35% stake in Nutresa.
Read More: Colombia’s Sura Eyes Partner to Bolster Defense Amid Nutresa Bid
Following this latest move Gilinski may also be eyeing Grupo Argos, BTG Pactual analysts Daniel Guardiola, Alonso Aramburu and Daniel Callamand wrote in a report.
“A strategy to gain influence across GEA could involve gaining minority stakes across all groups,” they wrote.
Sura owns an insurer and an asset management company and has a 46% stake in Bancolombia SA, Colombia’s largest bank. Its shares have risen 18% since Gilinski launched his takeover bid for Nutresa. Trading in Sura’s common shares was suspended following the offer. Preferred shares, which continue to trade, jumped 21% to 24,100 ($6.11) in Bogota.
Gilinski, who had made the bulk of his fortune in the finance and private equity industries, is worth about $4.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him one of Colombia’s richest people.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.