Bidding Opens for ARSA: Who Are the Interested Parties and How Much Are They Offering for the Former SanCor Yogurt Producer?

Eight months after the court declared the bankruptcy of Alimentos Refrigerados S.A. (ARSA), the former producer of yogurts and desserts from SanCor has regained interest. The liquidation file has moved past expressions of interest and is now filling up with concrete offers to acquire the industrial plants, brands, and other assets of a company that was once a jewel in the Argentine dairy business.

The judicial documents accessed by Ámbito show that there are already well-differentiated strategies among the interested parties. While Vicentin aims to acquire the entire company and keep it operational during the liquidation process, other players are looking to take advantage of the opportunity to incorporate specific assets, such as the plants in Monte Cristo (Córdoba) and Arenaza (Buenos Aires), or the brand package that includes Yogs, Shimy, Sancorito, Sublime, Vida, Primeros Sabores, and Lechelita.

The scenario anticipates a decision that will be key for the future of the failed company: selling ARSA as a productive unit or proceeding with a liquidation in parts, depending on the offers that can maximize recovery for the creditors.

The most ambitious proposal comes from Vicentin, which offered $2.5 million to acquire all the company's assets: the industrial plants of Arenaza and Monte Cristo, the commercial brands, machinery, facilities, and the rest of the inventory listed in the bankruptcy.

However, the most striking detail comes from another submission included in the file. In addition to the economic offer, the company requested authorization to temporarily operate the business while the judicial process advances, aiming to prevent the assets from continuing to lose value.

The document states that a halted industrial plant deteriorates quickly, losing productive capacity, customers, suppliers, and attractiveness to potential buyers. Therefore, it proposes maintaining some level of activity through contract manufacturing, leasing industrial capacity, or brand licensing, arguing that this alternative would preserve the company's value and improve recovery for the creditors.

The offer was also presented as firm, irrevocable, and unconditional, a feature that distinguishes it from other proposals that still depend on technical inspections or evaluation processes.

In contrast to the strategy of acquiring the entire company, other interested parties chose a different path: to compete only for the assets they consider most attractive.

Among the interested parties is Elcor, manufacturer of the Tonadita brand, which opted for a different strategy. Instead of competing for the entire company, it submitted two independent offers: one of $1 million for the Arenaza plant and another of $450,000 for the brand package, which includes Yogs, Shimy, Sancorito, Sublime, Vida, Primeros Sabores, and Lechelita, among others.

This list is joined by a consortium made up of six Cordoban entrepreneurs (Pedro Márquez, Fernando Sferco, Mario Rivarola, Agustín Manso, Horacio Villafañe, and Julio Kupferman), which formalized a $1.5 million offer exclusively for the Monte Cristo plant in Córdoba.

The proposal includes the property, facilities, industrial infrastructure, and machinery associated with the factory. Additionally, they requested the judge to open a specific incident to process that operation and asked for a right of first refusal to match any higher offer that might be presented for that asset.

The file also reveals the level of detail with which potential buyers are advancing. The Cordoban entrepreneurs conditioned the operation on conducting a technical inspection to verify that the plant has not suffered shortages, dismantling, vandalism, or deterioration after the judicial inventory, in addition to demanding that the transfer be completed free of liens, labor, tax, and commercial liabilities, without business continuity.

The list of interested parties does not end there. Vacalin requested authorization to inspect the plants in Córdoba and Arenaza before defining a potential offer, while Tregar also initiated actions to analyze part of the industrial assets and evaluate a possible submission.

Founded in 2016, when Vicentin acquired the yogurt and dessert business from SanCor for around $100 million, ARSA ended up becoming one of the main victims of the agro-exporting group's crisis. After being managed by the Venezuelan company Maralac, entering preventive bankruptcy in 2024, and accumulating a multi-million dollar liability, the company ultimately went bankrupt at the end of 2025.

Now, the file shows that the story has entered a new phase. The continuity of the company is no longer in question, but rather who will take over one of the most recognized brand portfolios in the yogurt and dessert business and two industrial plants that, despite being idle for months, continue to attract the interest of some of the main players in the Argentine dairy sector.

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