Aldeasa and Altadis appoint advisers to assess acquisition bid

Gavin Lipsith

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Aldeasa and major shareholder Altadis appoint investment banks to advise over Gestion de Explotaciones Aeroportuarias' bid for the Spanish retailer

Tobacco manufacturer Altadis has appointed investment bank JP Morgan to advise the company on the recent acquisition bid for Spanish retailer Aldeasa, in which Altadis is a 34.5% stakeholder. Unconfirmed market reports suggest that the tobacco company is holding out for a higher bid than the Eu29 ($37.7) per share offered by the Gestion de Explotaciones Aeroportuarias (GEA) consortium, led by investment firm Alba.

Meanwhile, Aldeasa has appointed Morgan Stanley to assess the Eu609m ($812m) bid on its behalf.

As reported earlier, new tobacco legislation being proposed by the Spanish government could result in the loss of Aldeasa's licence to sell tobacco, which currently represents about 30% of its turnover. The retailer's shares dropped almost 2% last week after news of the legislation, which proposes only allowing the sale of tobacco at state-controlled tobacconists, was reported.

However, the share price has since recovered and has settled between Eu30.6 ($39.7) and Eu31.4 ($40.8) ahead of news whether the CNMV, the Spanish stock exchange regulatory body, will allow the bid to proceed to the next stage.

For more comment and analysis on the Aldeasa acquisition bid, see the special News Focus section in DFNI January 15, out this week.