The Financial Market Council (CMF) announced that a request for authorization to acquire a majority controlling block was submitted on March 10, 2026. The request concerns 16,204,636 SOTUVER shares, representing 41.28% of the company’s capital, at a price of 13.020 dinars per share.
The CMF recalled that this operation follows a sale agreement signed on December 16, 2025 between Compagnie Financière d’Investissement (CFI), Tunisienne d’Assurance Lloyd Tunisien, INDINVEST, and Lloyd Vie, which will sell their stakes in Sotuver, part of the Bayahi Group, to B.A Glass B.V.
The Tunisian stock market regulator did not specify its decision regarding this major financial transaction, expected to exceed 220 million dinars, saying that a ruling will be issued later. In the meantime, trading of SOTUVER shares on the main market of the Tunis Stock Exchange (TSE) has been suspended.
So who is this potential buyer involved in one of Tunisia’s most significant industrial deals?
BA Glass B.V. is a Dutch holding company registered in Amsterdam (Netherlands). It serves as the financial holding company of the BA Glass Group, while most of the industrial operations are managed from Portugal.
The group is often described as a Portuguese industrial group, since its operational center is located in Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) and several of its industrial subsidiaries are Portuguese.
In summary, it is a family-owned Portuguese group, legally based in the Netherlands, and a European leader in glass packaging, currently expanding internationally but facing a difficult financial year in 2024.
BA Glass is a global manufacturer of glass containers (bottles and jars) used in the beverage industry (beer, wine, soft drinks), spirits, food products, and pharmaceuticals.
Its annual production exceeds 11 billion glass bottles and jars, supported by 13 glass manufacturing plants and five recycling facilities located across seven countries:
Portugal, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Romania and Mexico. The group exports to more than 70 countries.
According to the group’s capital structure, the main shareholders are:
A Portuguese non-financial holding company (SGPS) based in Vila Nova de Gaia, which holds 47.40% of the capital.
Teak Capital, the investment company of the Moreira da Silva family, holding 26.30%.
Tangor Capital, a family investment firm of the Silva Domingues family from Porto, holding 26.30%.
Tangor Capital invests in sectors such as food products and industrial supplies, with stakes in companies including Cerealto, Better Foods Group, and Vetrerie Riunite Group.
Overall, the group is controlled by Portuguese industrial families along with its management.
Key executives include Tiago Moreira da Silva, CEOabd and Paulo Azevedo, Chairman of the Board.
A profitable family group
The group employs around 4,800 people.
For 2024, it reported revenue of €1.53 billion, EBITDA of €402 million and net profit of €157.2 million
However, net profit fell 60% compared with 2023, mainly due to the integration of new international acquisitions and a slowdown in the global glass market.
As for the holding company BA Glass B.V., which has no employees and mainly acts as a financing and ownership structure for the group, it reported a net profit: €248.6 million and equity of about €687.6 million.
Who are the sellers?
The Bayahi Group, selling through its subsidiaries that hold shares in SOTUVER, is a major Tunisian family holding company founded in 1958 by Youssef Bayahi and currently led by his sons Taieb, Tahar, and Yahia.
Although family-owned, the group is generally viewed as financially solid and well managed.
It is a major economic player in Tunisia, with activities in:
Retail (Magasin Général, partnered with Auchan)
Industry (TPR Aluminium, SOTUVER)
Insurance (Lloyd)
Agro-industry (SICAM)
The group operates in several strategic sectors including industry, agriculture, financial services, and large-scale retail.
It holds a significant stake in Magasin Général (MG), Tunisia’s leading retail chain. In 2024, MG’s total operating revenue exceeded 1.139 billion dinars, up from 1.109 billion dinars in 2023.
The company also significantly reduced its losses, posting a net loss of 3.74 million dinars in 2024, compared with 34 million dinars in 2023.
Despite this diversification, SOTUVER remains the leading supplier of glass packaging for Tunisia’s food industry, within a group also active in aluminium production (TPR), insurance (Lloyd Assurance), and tomato processing (SICAM).
