Economist and businessman José Roberto Arango explains how the “intangles” of the difficult business between the Gilinskis and the GEA in the purchase of Nutresa were, and what changes from now on.
Doctor José Roberto Arango, is it true, or is it a legend, that you were the mediator between that great conciliatory business of the Gilinski Group and the GEA?
No. I was just another spectator.
Because there was a secret mediator there who was very skillful…
Some newspaper says that it was President Uribe.
(Read also: According to Gilinski and the GEA, Bancolombia was put on the table)
Your business skills are famous, therefore I do believe that you should mediate… But if you deny it, I have to believe you.
If so, I would have no problem admitting it. I thought it was a very good arrangement for the parts. That so-called castling had to start to work itself out. It is a very good first step.
Why was it better to fix it?
Because until today it had allowed its administration to be practically oblivious to the will and economic needs of the other shareholders, and the presidents of the companies and the so-called independent board members were the ones who said how much was distributed in dividends and how much was left in cash for future investments.
Some good, some unfortunate?
That’s how it went. And this administrative system did not allow the real value of the shares to be reflected, which are valued in the market for their performance, for their dividends. This situation presented wear and tear on what the public limited company had been and discouraged investors, and that was the moment that the Gilinski Group took advantage of intelligently and shrewdly.
They made a lot of money with the purchase of Nutresa…
What was not shown in time to small and medium shareholders. Castling was a clever idea at the time, but it was defaced and had to come to an end.
We are breaking down Who won and who lost in this deal?
For me, no one lost, maybe everyone won. The companies won and over all the shareholders, who had become very passive. With castling, one company owned one, another, another… It was a shock for everyone and now the shareholders are going to get more directly into it. Something about them told me ‘man, how could I not be happy if my assets tripled, and the dividends that are coming to me are much higher’.
But there are people who believe that this company was bought to sell it quickly and that it was definitely in foreign hands…
There they will continue. On the contrary, they will grow.
Although it is very possible that both parties have won, it was public that the Gilinskis had a long-standing ambition to stay with Bancolombia. They didn’t make it now either. But that no longer matters, given the size and future that awaits Nutresa?
I think they chose very well, because I understand that they also had the possibility of choosing whether to stay with the bank or with Nutresa. They were not wrong choosing the latter. They will easily make it global very quickly, it is already a multinational, multilatina, and surely they will make it global. Of course, I have the information that he had the opportunity to choose.
It is said that they are going to make it the size of Nestlé; They have the intelligence, the audacity and the financial muscle…
And they also have the experience. Jaime Gilinski is one of the most global businessmen that Colombia has, he knows how to move fish in the water around the world and has the necessary connections to take this company wherever he wants to take it. He talks about doubling sales in two years, and it’s not uncommon for him to do so.
How much money did the Gilinskis make in the business?
I couldn’t say how much, but I think several million dollars, more than a thousand… The money was there. But no one had seen her. Those companies were undervalued because they did not distribute dividends, they managed a very large box, and although in general their management has been very good, the time came when they had to change. What Jaime Gilinski and his family did open the eyes of many companies in Colombia: you have to evolve.
And if the Gilinskis made those millions, how much did the GEA make or lose?
Well, he earned almost the same as them, because the company they bought was valued and surely in this unsealing, those prices are going to play the same again. So, the money that Suramericana and Argos will receive, whether in shares or money, will be the same; A lot of money is going to leave the two companies very liquid and they are going to pay off many of the credits they will have.
(You may be interested: Exclusive: Who was the discreet mediator between the Gilinskis and the GEA?)
Such castling did imply a padlock so that the GEA could not be taken. With the breaking of the padlock, was anyone angry?
That castling was from many years ago, when the companies had threats of hostile takeovers. Whether a company can be bought or sold is a game that allows it to be on the stock market. And no one is going to ask permission to buy a stock. When hostile takeovers became fashionable, the presidents of those companies, some very honorable gentlemen, agreed and among all of them they formed a barrier that was this castling: I buy some shares from here and others from here, and others from here… well, very well, but that could not last a lifetime. He was taking a more passive dynamic, because he did not have a true mourner. The administrators that are going to remain today are going to have bosses, both in the Gilinski Group, obviously, and in Suramericana and Argos. They are going to already have shareholders who are going to give their opinion and speak, which they did not do before.
Today the Gilinskis left the bid for Sura, Argos and Bancolombia. How long do you think this, let’s say, ‘abstention’ is going to last or do you consider the chapter closed?
I talk from time to time with Jaime; he is happy with the business, he has a lot of work to do from now on and he has his bank. I don’t think anymore… Also, there is a factor that plays a lot in people, which is age. You can enjoy watching a company like Nutresa grow and that influences.
How much did Nutresa cost before this bid began, and how much is it worth today?
I think the company has tripled and more if it is going to be left with a share that is going to dominate 88 percent, which will speed up decisions. And the shareholders, at least, tripled their money.
And what will be the ratio between the Gilinskis and their Arab partners?
I don’t know, nor do I know if there will be a separation or not. They have been doing operations together for more than twenty years. They have been partners for many years, they have a very large investment in Panama. I don’t think they are interested in leaving, unless at some point a good deal appeared for one of the parties.
Do you think the Gilinskis are going to defend that Nutresa’s headquarters continue to be in Medellín?
Why not? Yes, they will look for a much more global management, but with headquarters in Medellín, as Jaime said in an interview. And in the conversations I have had with him, he has told me the same thing, although they will try to double their sales very quickly.
As a good connoisseur of the entrails of that paisa push, what does this separation of powers mean? Could it be that all parties were equally calm? Because one of the two lost one of the crown jewels, at the cost of securing the other three…
It depends on the interlocutor. But I believe that the common people should be happy because the shares are worth more, they are distributing more dividends and the companies Sura, Bancolombia and Argos are going to be much stronger.
Will Mr. Gallego continue as president of Nutresa?
Undoubtedly. It’s the right thing to do, because you can’t get to disrupt an administration that has been successful, the most among all companies.
With your intuition, how are the personal relations between the Gilinskis, the Arab group and the GEA?
I think good. But those relationships must remain with the shareholders, who are the ones that will last. I would think that Argos and Suramericana are going to “unscrew” the same way, and each one is going to have its position and its shareholders and is going to carry out its own functions as a company.
Above all, this will be convenient for the shareholders, who will know how much their share is really worth, not entangled in the intersection with other businesses…
Yes, of course, it will be much more transparent. Like everything in life, that strategy at the time played a very important role. The proof is where these companies got to and how big they are today. They protected themselves, reinvested a lot of money, more than was owed; Proof of this is that the shares have no value because they did not distribute and things are worth according to what they will produce. With all this that happened, the shares of all these companies rose considerably on the stock market, and the dividends responded to that value. So everyone won…
Finally, in this unseat, who ended up buying whom?
Strongly entrenched from the beginning, there was initially no way to enter these companies. But on the side of Suramericana they wanted to grow, they sold many shares to funds, they would think that these funds were never going to sell, and they went making some investments that in the end were not the most successful. That was where, let’s say, that crack was produced where it was envisioned that the castling could be broken. I think it was through Suramericana where it broke.
(In addition: After an agreement with the Gilinskis, in 2 months the departure of Nutresa from the GEA would be sealed)
But why South American? She didn’t understand him…
At one point, the actions they had between Suramericana and Argos could dominate Nutresa. The ones that Nutresa and Suramericana had were able to dominate Argos. Those that had Argos and Suramericana dominated the other. But there came a time when no, they could no longer dominate, they did not have 51 percent. That is why the bid and the takeover bids were made. And in the end they were forced to disenchant. Alone, as they were before, they couldn’t take it anymore, they needed additional support.
Finally, do you think that this implies the entry into Colombia, in a very determined way, of Arab investment?
Undoubtedly. The Arabs know that one day their oil business is going to end and food is a very good investment, in which they will surely continue to invest.
The conclusion is, as you told me at the beginning, that nobody lost in this business, the Gilinskis won, the GEA won, and the shareholders won?
The GEA is a nickname, a name that was given to that castling. But the GEA did not win, because it lost a company that is Nutresa; The shareholders did win. But the GEA does lose a company, undoubtedly, which is Nutresa, and which they will no longer control. That company is going to become a monster. I don’t know if this one will suck others, I think that in Jaime Gilinski’s head that can happen; that he doesn’t sell it, as I said before, but, on the contrary, he buys more companies and becomes a big monster. You can pass…
And in the rest of activities, how is your life? Is he in retirement, or active as usual?
At this point in the game, already on the seventh floor, it is time to enjoy my grandchildren, my family and my friends. Also, travel, now that there is time and health.
But when I can continue intervening, as well as a link in such a good business, that they wait for you, that you arrive… Isn’t that true?
(Laughter) Sure, but the truth is that I don’t think it’s that easy anymore, things have changed a lot and one also gets a little out of date with all this load of new things that are being seen in company management. But common sense continues and there we are ready for anything. I help families out there, with problems they have, smaller things and, let’s say, of less importance, but that are important to those families. But the whole world has changed and, simply, we have to make way for the new generations.
MARIA ISABEL RUEDA
Special for EL TIEMPO
