- Ansa - Italian coffee giant Lavazza has absolutely no intention of going public or selling a stake in the company to a private equity firm.Italian coffee
- Ansa -
Italian coffee giant Lavazza has absolutely no intention of going public or selling a stake in the company to a private equity firm.Italian coffee giant Lavazza has absolutely no intention of going public or selling a stake in the company to a private equity firm, a company executive said on Tuesday. "Never in a million years would the Lavazza family be interested in allowing in a private equity firm or floating shares on the stock market, Lavazza's director of acquisitions for Asia and Australia, Luca Maulini, said at a forum here. "There are certain things the company does not even want to hear about - like going public or selling a stake. The family has 100% control and it likes it that way," Maulini said. "People who propose offers like that to us don't even get offered a cup of coffee," he added. The executive did confirm that "Lavazza is looking to grow abroad in four or five select markets, given that it cannot expand further in Italy due to anti-trust laws". These markets include India, China, Brazil and the United States, where the company "is not out to make a quick buck because it prefers to build a name and a business, while getting the best deal possible," Maulini said. As an example the executive recalled that three years ago in Britain Lavazza was offered a chain of coffee shops "but at the time we thought the price was too high and we didn't buy it. This year the same chain was offered to us again but at a third of the original price". At the end of last month Lavazza completed the acquisition of a 7% stake in
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) of the US for $250 million, the biggest investment the family-owned Italian company has made abroad. Lavazza and GMCR also entered into a partnership to develop new single-serve espresso machines and single-serve espresso capsules designed for use in these machines. Lavazza, founded in 1895, is one of the world's largest coffee manufacturers and the retail market leader in Italy. It directly operates 11 international subsidiaries and its products are marketed in 90 countries.