Madrid, 25 September 2005. EDF Man Holdings Ltd. has announced its intention of exercising its call option over 51% of the capital of Inversiones Greenfields in Chile. EDF Man purchased the remaining 49% of that capital in November 2004.
After remitting the appropriate legal documents to the Chilean Securities and Insurance Watchdog, notices will be published announcing the takeover bids for the shares in Empresas Iansa, S.A. and Campos Chilenos, S.A.
This process is expected to take between 45 and 60 days. Ebro Puleva, S.A. will receive US$ 12 million as the price for exercising the option.
This transaction represents further headway in Ebro Puleva¿s strategic plan, which focuses essentially on:
· Consolidation and growth of the Group¿s activities in strategic, lead businesses with high value added and the possibility of generating synergies.
· Optimisation of costs and structures.
· Divestment in businesses with smaller returns or no growth prospects.
ED&F Man Sugar (www.edfman.com) is one of the leading international undertakings in the sugar sector, with more than 220 years¿ experience in the industry. It has marketing, broking, refining and distribution operations in over 44 countries and is a major logistics operator in many of these countries.
Ebro Puleva (www.ebropuleva.com) is the leading food group in Spain in terms of turnover, profits, market capitalisation and international presence. Ebro Puleva is world leader in the rice sector, the leading sugar group in Spain, No. 1 in the sale of dairy products in Spain and No. 2 in the European pasta sector. It has leading brands in all these sectors, including: Puleva®, Ram® and El Castillo® in the dairy sector; Azucarera® and Sucran® in the sugar sector; Brillante®, Nomen®, La Cigala®, La Fallera®, Oryza®, Bosto®, Reis-Fit®, Riceland®, Danrice®, Risella®, Mahatma®, Sucess®, Carolina®, Lustucru® and Taureau Ailé® in the rice sector; Pozuelo®, Kern® and Ducal® in biscuits, cookies, sauces and fruit juices in Central America; and Panzani® in pasta.
