Sale of table olive processor signals industry transition
related companies sued Bell-Carter, claiming they were induced to pur- chase their stake based on intentional misrepresentations of the processor’s inventory value, projected earnings and financial position. With the acquisition of Bell-Carter, Tim Carter said the legal matter with Dcoop “has been resolved to the sat- isfaction of all parties.” Though Dcoop no longer supplies raw olives to Bell- Carter, Carter said the company has not changed its “necessary and successful implementation of a global sourcing
model.” He said Bell-Carter will contin- ue to buy olives from California grow- ers and other countries in the European Union and elsewhere. Relying on global sources for raw olives has been key to Bell-Carter’s business and all U.S.-based olive producers, he added. Meanwhile, state bearing acreage for table olives continues to decline, stand- ing at 12,000 this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s down from 16,000 acres in 2019.
By Ching Lee The acquisition of Bell-Carter Foods by a Spanish olive company marks the end of an era for the largest table olive pro- ducer in the U.S. and one of two remain- ing olive processors in the state. Announced last week, the deal between Bell-Carter and Aceitunas Guadalquivir, or AG Olives, comes as California farm- ers continue to remove their table olive orchards, forcing state canners to look globally to source the fruit. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, the Walnut Creek-based company—known for its Lindsay brand of black ripe olives—said the sale allows for immediate upgrades to its production facility in Corning. This includes updated olive cookers, expand- ed warehouse space and new produc- tion lines, Bell-Carter said. The invest- ments signal the company’s intention to stay in the table olive business—and in California—effectively maintaining the state’s olive-processing infrastructure. Under the new ownership, fourth-gen- eration CEO Tim Carter, who took the helm in 2012, will continue to lead the business his family founded 110 years ago. Bell-Carter will keep its name, its nearly 300 employees and all active con- tracts with 80-plus growers across 3,000 acres in Tehama and Tulare counties, the company said. The change also forms a new alli- ance between two veteran olive-pro- ducing families—the Carters and the Escalantes—whose business relation- ship stretches back more than 30 years. Since 1991, Bell-Carter has been sourcing jarred green table olives from AG Olives’ factory in Seville, Spain. “This acquisition is really the product of a very deep trust that the families have in one another, so that we can continue the Bell-Carter Foods name, mission and values,” Carter said. AG Olives CEO Francisco “Paco” Escalante described the partnership as “more than just smart business. It’s a prom- ise of even more growth and innovation.” Escalante noted his long ties to the Carters: He was a 14-year-old exchange student learning English in the U.S. when he first got to know the family during a visit to Corning, where he toured the can- nery and some of the region’s olive groves. “Thirty years later, we are here with this alliance that just seemed the natural thing to do for both families,” Escalante said. “It’s driven by our mutual commitment to grow family, quality and innovation.” As part of the deal, the Spanish olive oil cooperative Dcoop, a former partner of Bell-Carter, will hold a minority interest in the company. Bell-Carter sold 20% of its share to Dcoop in 2018 and began buying more Spanish raw olives for processing. The following year, Bell-Carter terminat- ed some 350 contracts with California growers, who accused the canner of
using a loophole in a provision that al- lows it to avoid paying import tariffs on the raw olives. Some growers found a home for their fruit with Tracy-based Musco Family Olive Co., the state’s other major table olive pro- cessor. But others have left the business. Last year, Dcoop and two other
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