Vecchioni (BF and La Verità) also eats a bit of NaturaSì
Organic agreement between BF and EcorNaturaSì: not only commercial agreements and entry of the group led by Vecchioni into NaturaSì. Facts, names and numbers
The agro-industry giant BF is expanding even further, led by the CEO, Federico Vecchioni, who has signed an agreement with the well-known organic brand NaturaSì. The agreement provides for both an industrial and commercial synergy and the entry of the BF giant into the capital of the EcorNaturaSì company.
Here are all the details.
THE BF-NATURASÌ AGREEMENT
BF signed an investment agreement today with EcorNaturaSì and its shareholders Ulirosa, Alpa, Invest Tre, Dean Thomas William, Luisante, Ernst Schutz and Purpose Evergreen Capital GMBH & Co. Kgaa (owners of 56.99%, 23.83% respectively , 8.75%, 1.25%, 6.32%, 0.95% and 1.91% of NaturaSì capital).
The agreement, BF reports in a note, is aimed at developing commercial synergies between NaturaSì, its subsidiaries and associated companies and the companies of the BF Group, in a logic of integration of the entire production and distribution chain, based on the organizational connection of the production phases along the entire process from seed production to cultivation up to the transformation and marketing of the organic food product offered to the final consumer.
The agreement provides for the stipulation between BF and NaturaSì of a commercial agreement for the purchase and distribution, by NaturaSì, of the organic products produced and/or marketed by the BF Group and the subscription of a divisible paid capital increase of NaturaSì allocated to BF, or to a company controlled by the same, for a total amount of 25 million euros, as a result of which the BF Group will acquire a shareholding representing 11.27% of the share capital of NaturaSì.
THE OBJECTIVES OF “FOOD SOVEREIGNTY”
The partnership – we read in the press release – will on the one hand allow EcorNaturaSì to grow and develop the commercial network and, in parallel, to BF, through its organic land, 12 companies and food processing sites, to supply products and materials guaranteed raw materials for 100% Italian organic supply chains.
“The project”, continues the press release, “will thus be able to contribute to food sovereignty and therefore further reduce dependence on foreign supplies and address shortages due above all to the effects of climate change. In fact, organic farming has a positive effect not only on people's health, but also on the health of the environment, in particular by transforming CO2 into humus and therefore into soil fertility. The collaboration between the two entities therefore has the objective of creating resilient companies that guarantee biodiversity in the long term".
FINANCING
The operation is part of the investments aimed at the growth of the BF group through external lines in the Agro-Industrial sector and foreseen in the industrial plan of the BF Group for the period 2023-2027 approved by the BF board of directors on 21 July 2023.
The subscription of the NaturaSì capital increase by BF will be financed through the use of part of the resources deriving from the paid capital increase, on a divisible basis, for a maximum amount (including premium) of Euro 299,295,304, 00, the subject of the resolutions of the Company's board of directors of 16 October and 6 November 2023, pursuant to the delegation granted to the administrative body by the extraordinary meeting of BF shareholders of 27 September.
WHAT BF BIO WILL DO
The agreement will also concern BF Bio, which will operate mainly at Tenuta Le Piane, at the center of a relaunch plan launched in 2022 with a total investment of around 2 million euros and "with important employment implications in the area", assures BF.
The project includes, among other things, the recovery of the 800 hectares of forest through activities, including tourism, valorisation and redevelopment. “This part of the initiative represents the aspect that will also benefit the surrounding communities and their quality of life, as well as being a magnet for economic activities,” the company claims.
Among the organic lines that will be developed by Tenuta Le Piane for NaturaSì there is the line of meat from Maremmana cattle, for which a specific dedicated brand will be developed. Honey will also be produced for NaturaSì.
THE WORDS OF VECCHIONI (BF)
”BF shares with NaturaSì the objective of bringing to consumers' tables a wide range of high quality food products, grown in Italy and traceable starting from the seed, obtained through innovative, sustainable, regenerative and organic agriculture, capable of enhance the excellence of the national agri-food supply chain and protect the country's territory and natural resources", declared Federico Vecchioni, CEO of BF.
THE WORDS OF BRESCACIN (ECORNATURAYES)
“Today the collaboration between our company and BF Spa was officially announced. The over 9,000 hectares of organic and biodynamic land of NaturaSì will be joined by the 2300 organic hectares and 300 hectares in conversion of BF Spa. This agreement will allow EcorNaturaSì to increase the its availability of Italian organic products with those coming from the 12 companies and food processing sites of BF Spa. We will thus be able to further reduce the dependence on foreign supplies and deal with shortages due above all to the effects of climate change. But not only. BF Educational was founded, a training and specialization school to prepare young people and lay the foundations for healthy agriculture of the future. EcorNaturaSì will contribute with its forty years of experience in organic and biodynamic agriculture. An economic and cultural alliance at the same time with a common objective, that of contributing to the evolution of a national agricultural system, and no longer just a niche one, capable of ensuring the care of our Planet and healthy food for an increasingly wider than the population”, declared Fabio Brescacin, President of EcorNaturasì.
In the Operation BF was assisted by Esiodo stapa as legal advisor and by L&C Consulting and Partners as financial advisor.
BF SHAREHOLDERS
The relevant shareholders of BF are Dompè Holdings (24.9 percent), Federico Vecchioni (21.9 percent), Fondazione Cariplo (11.2 percent), ISMEA (6 percent), Intesa Sanpaolo (3.3 percent cent), ENPAIA (3.2 percent), INARCASSA (3.1 percent). Finally, Eni Natural Energies owns 5.3 percent.
VECCHIONI ENTER THE TRUTH
At the end of October, Società Editrice Italiana – the company that owns the newspaper La Verità (founded and directed by Maurizio Belpietro) and the weekly Panorama – saw the entry of a new shareholder: Newspaper, which is headed by a trust linked to Federico Vecchioni .
Newspaper owns 25 percent of the shares of Società Editrice Italiana, of which the largest shareholder (with 58.5 percent), however, remains the director of Verità , Belpietro.
Among Sei's new advisors is Mario Pellegatta, founder of the consultancy and communications company Ad Hoc , which handles the communications of many companies, including BF,
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/bf-naturasi/ on Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:11:18 +0000.