Ashurst counsels Cobega on the sale of 50% stake in Cacaolat to Damm

Ashurst has advised Cobega on its sale of the remaining 50% share of Cacaolat Group to Damm, which makes the Barcelona-based company its new sole owner

With this deal, Damm increases its stake in Cacaolat to 100% following an agreement with Cobega.

Damm, which has controlled 50% of the capital of the Cacaolat group since 2011, has increased its stake to 100% following an agreement with Cobega to acquire its remaining share capital. The dairy group opened its production centre in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona) in 2013, with technology to ensure the highest standards of quality and food safety.

With a team of 170 people, this group has been promoting a strategic plan for the last few years with the company’s general manager since 2019, Josep Barbena. It is a plan of commercial and cultural transformation and technological renovation of the facilities, with more modern and innovative production processes, and it is also present in 17 countries.

The group, in which the Cacaolat and Letona brands stand out, is a market leader in milkshakes and milk in the on-trade channel and in the food channel, as well as in milkshakes and in fresh milk.

After creating new departments such as R&D&I, the company has developed new brand references such as Cacaolat 0%, Cacaolat lactose-free and Cacaolat Mocca. All its packaging is 100% recyclable, and since May, it has been using 50% recycled plastic (PET), an action that will eliminate 292 tonnes of fossil plastic from the market every year.

Estrella Damm is a lager beer, brewed in Barcelona, Spain. It has existed since 1876, when August Küntzmann Damm founded his brewery in Barcelona, and is the flagship beer of S.A. Damm, a prominent brewery in the city.

Ashurst´s M&A & Corporate team advising Cobega was led by partner Pedro Ester (pictured left), along with counsel Francisco Vázquez Oteo (pictured top right) and associate Isabel Matute (pictured bottom right).