Shares in Spain's struggling olive oil giant Deoleo surged over the past week amid reports that an Italian investment bank made a bid to buy a 30% stake in the Bertolli manufacturer.
Deoleo's share price rose by as much as 8% after Reuters reported that Italy's state-backed Fondo Strategico Italiano had made a bid.
"We filed an offer for it (Deoleo) ... it controls Italian brands that are interesting for us," a spokesman for the Italian fund told Reuters on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Deoleo told just-food.com that "it is a confidential process" for which they could not divulge any details.
In July of last year, it emerged that several top shareholders, including Bankia and Caixbank mandated JP Morgan Chase to help find a buyer for stakes totaling up to 35% of the Spanish company.
The Spanish company, which posted revenues of around €800 million last year, also owns brands including Sasso and Carapelli.
In Spain, when stakes of more than 30% of a listed company change hands, it automatically triggers a bid for 100% of the shares in the company, unless the bidder is given a waiver by the stock-market regulator.
