Eridania Sugar to take the brunt of debt
their market,"commented Stefano Meloni, president of Italian-French
group Eridania Beghin-Say,...
"Each independent company will keep its position as leaders in their market,"commented Stefano Meloni, president of Italian-French group Eridania Beghin-Say, on the future break up in June this year of the company into four separate entities. In an interview with French newspaper, 'Investir', Meloni maintained that the main objective for the break up was the need to generate an increased value for the shareholders in each of the four new companies: Sugar and derivatives; Starch and derivatives; Oils and fats; and Animal Nutrition. Analysts were surprised to learn of the estimated low return on investment (12 per cent) for the Sugar and Deriviatives entity, traditionally a strong source of profit for the group. Meloni explained that this is due to the 45 per cent chunk of the group debt that the Sugar entity will take on. The rest is shared between the other three companies. Oils will have 28 per cent, Animal Nutrition between 15 and 20 per cent and Starch, the smallest slice, at between 10 and 15 per cent. Investir reported that the stock exchange does not seem to wholeheartedly support the action. Although shares for each of the future separate entities were estimated at Euro120, on they were at Euro 94 at midday on Tuesday.
