Theodoropoulos’s deal with ION and the food concentration plan

Of George Lampiris

To confirm what they categorically denied a few days ago with an announcement by ION, they came through the strategic cooperation carried out by businessman Spyros Theodoropoulos and Tina Kotsiopoulou, head of ION, to obtain a minority stake from the former in the company.

This brings a new cycle of concentration in the food market, with the businessman having already put under his roof several Greek-owned companies, with a key common feature between them: they are completely healthy financially.

Spyros Theodoropoulos will participate in the share capital of ION, initially acquiring 45% of the shares, while in the future he will be able to acquire the majority of them, something that according to information is expected to happen in the near future, most likely in 2023.

This move is part of a broader strategic planning of the businessman and his associates, in order to create a strong group of food and beverages in the Greek market. At the same time, the current shareholders of ION SA will continue to exercise the management of the company.

This development comes to confirm Capital.gr report that you had read on Monday, February 14th entitled: “Advanced discussions on the acquisition of ION by Spyros Theodoropoulos”.

The company’s turnover at 118.9 million euros

In 2020, ION Group had a turnover of 118.9 million euros, compared to 118.84 million euros in 2019. Respectively, pre-tax profits were 11.69 million euros, from 14.26 million euros respectively in 2019.

Of the total sales of the company, an amount of 102.8 million euros for 2020 corresponded to sales of the company in the Greek market, compared to 102.4 million euros in 2019. Exports resulted in sales of 11 million euros for 2020, from 11.18 million Euros in 2019.

The resounding acquisition

In the case of ION, this is another move by the businessman after the announcement about the acquisition of the company Hellenic Juices SA. – Viva based in Larissa. In addition, the businessman entered into an agreement for the acquisition of the companies Edessa and Ambrosia based in Thessaloniki.

But the difference with ION is that it is a very resounding move to acquire a shareholding and the reality is that Theodoropoulos is by no means accustomed to moving quietly.

In fact, this is a company that some may have thought some time ago that it is impossible to buy its slightest share. The years, however, pass and the data change.

Besides, Ioannis Kotsiopoulos, who had repurchased 25% of the shares that Kraft had acquired a few years ago, is no longer alive.

In all of the above, let us not forget the move to acquire a shareholding in MEVGAL, where last July it acquired 21.5% of the shares held by Delta until then, while the rest of the total 43% of Delta ownership ended up in the major shareholder and managing director. consultant of the Macedonian industry, Mary Hatzakou.

Let us not forget, however, Theodoropoulos’s activity in the primary sector with Wonderplant in hydroponic tomato cultivation, where apart from Drama, where it currently has a presence, it is preparing its productive entrance by installing greenhouses in the de-lignification area in Western Macedonia.

The holding company with a share capital of 140 million euros

Furthermore, in a recent report by Capital.gr You have read about the businessman’s move to set up a holding company, which will include companies of his interests as well as companies that he has acquired or is about to acquire.

In essence, this company will act as an umbrella for all the moves and collaborations that S. Theodoropoulos implements or is going to implement.

Its initial share capital amounts to 140 million euros and from this amount 138.6 million euros were covered by SAG Invest & Holdings LTD based in Cyprus and an amount of 1.4 million euros by Spyros Theodoropoulos.

The path of ION in time

ION was created in 1930 by Konstantinos Kotsiopoulos with its headquarters located on Piraeus Street, where it remains to this day.

In 1938 NASKO SA joined ION. with its name deriving from the initial letters of the adjectives of its two owners, Konstantinos Kotsiopoulos and Ioannis Nassiopoulos.

The specific company, which was acquired by ION, was its first big business move, strengthening its portfolio with stuffed fruit candies. A milestone in its path was the post-war circulation of the ION almond in 1947.

In the early 1950s, Konstantinos Kotsiopoulos’s nephew, Ioannis Kotsiopoulos, and his cousin, George Karkazis, joined the company. In 1975 the ION factory in Arta was inaugurated and in 1976 the famous chocolate with whole hazelnut, known as Noisetta, was released.

A year later, the newly arrived chocolate bar appeared on the shelves of supermarkets and in the shop windows and in 1986, chocolate became square for the first time in Greece, with the release of Break and influences from corresponding square chocolates circulating abroad.

Another move to strengthen the dynamics of ION took place in 1999 with the acquisition of the chocolate factory, Mabel by K. Dallidis, specializing in chocolates and filled chocolate bars, thus expanding its range in the field of chocolate.

The acquisition of 24.5% by Kraft Jacobs Suchard and the repurchase of the percentage

The path of ION was characterized by the general stability in the Greekness of its origin, however accepting a series of takeover proposals from companies such as Kraft Jacobs Suchard (today’s Mondelez International), which had already acquired the Pavlidis chocolate factory (known for the production of Lacta chocolate) .

Proposals have come to the ION table from time to time from companies such as Nestle, Vivartia and RJR Nabisco. In 1988 the Kraft Jacobs

Suchard acquired 24.5% of ION shares. Ten years later, the owners of Kotsiopoulos and Karkazis, managed to repurchase them, winning the bet of Greekness in the company.

ION is currently headed by Tina Kotsiopoulou, who is acting president of the historic chocolate industry. The move by Theodoropoulos so far is the acquisition of the largest percentage and the fall of a business castle.

At the same time, no one predicts that his interest in new moves on the chessboard has subsided.