Italian chocolate maker Ferrero Group has insisted it has not received a takeover approach from Swiss food giant Nestle.

Italian daily La Repubblica reported that Nestle had submitted an offer for family-owned Ferrero. The paper cited sources in “leading national banks” but added that talks were at an “embryonic” stage.

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However, a spokesperson for the Italian chocolate maker told just-food today (17 October) that the company was not for sale.

“Giovanni Ferrero, chief executive of the Ferrero Group, categorically denies that the company has received any acquisition proposals from another group within the confectionery sector and confirms that Ferrero is not for sale to anyone,” the spokesperson said.

Ferrero, believed to be valued at more than EUR10bn (US$13.5bn), benefits from a strong balance sheet and leading international positions in the confectionery sector. Reports have also suggested that – if the company were up for sale – the group would likely attract the interest of fellow chocolate majors Mars Inc and Mondelez International.

Speaking earlier this morning on Nestle’s nine-month sales update, chief executive Paul Bulcke declined to comment on media “speculation”. However, he did reveal that Nestle was open to “strategic” “bolt-on” acquisitions. 

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“We say no big acquisitions,” he said during a conference call. “Our acquisitions, indeed, are bolt on. We did quite a sizeable one with Wyeth [Nutrition] so that was a good one, it has bought us a lot of joy. But it has to be strategically fitting, it should fit into the whole logic of portfolio management. There we see more bolt on opportunities.”