Nutresa Buys Ecuador Chocolate Icon Despite Colombia Trade War

Key Facts

—The buyer. Grupo Nutresa, Colombia’s largest food company, controlled by financier Jaime Gilinski.

—The target. Universal Sweet Industries, known as La Universal, an Ecuadorian chocolate and confectionery maker founded in 1889 in Guayaquil.

—The terms. Nutresa is buying 100 percent of the shares from seller Bia Culinary and Snacks Investments; the price was not disclosed.

—The output. La Universal’s Guayaquil plant produces about 540 tonnes of sweets a month, per Ecuadorian regulatory filings.