Grupo Romero Completes Sales of Primax, Caña Brava and Centinela, Says It Is Not Leaving Peru
PERU · BUSINESS
Key Facts
- —The country. Peru has 34.9 million people. President Keiko Fujimori took office on 28 July 2026, the first woman elected to the job after a decade of toppled presidents.
- —The money. The currency is the sol, about 3.37 to the US dollar. Copper, gold, zinc, fishmeal and farm exports dominate, and the Lima stock exchange is small.
- —The background. Grupo Romero is a family business group founded in Piura more than a century ago. Its best-known company is Alicorp, which makes cooking oil, pasta, detergent and other household staples.
- —What happened. Since 2025 the group sold Pesquera Centinela outright, 80% of sugar and ethanol producer Caña Brava, and 80% of fuel retailer Primax. The buyers were Exalmar, Guatemala’s Ingenio Magdalena and Honduras-based UNO Corp.
- —What the owner says. Group president Manuel Romero Valdez told a business forum that talk of an exit is completely mistaken. He said the group holds more in Peru than 10 or 12 years ago. In March 2026 it bought power producer Orygen Perú, with 13 plants and 2.3 gigawatts.
- —What it means. For residents, Primax stations, Alicorp brands and the Matarani and Salaverry ports carry on under the same names. For shareholders, Alicorp’s study of leaving the Lima exchange matters more than the sales; minority holders would need a buyout offer.
- —The catch. No price has been published for Centinela, Caña Brava, Primax or Orygen. A tender offer for the last 7.06% of Orygen Perú runs to 6 October 2026 at US$0.7298 a share, up to US$161.5 million.
Manuel Romero Valdez says the three exits were portfolio choices, and that the group now holds more in Peru than it did a decade ago.
Three Grupo Romero sales are now complete, and Peru’s best-known family business group says it is not leaving. President Manuel Romero Valdez told a business forum the group holds more in Peru than a decade ago.
What the Grupo Romero Sales Actually Covered
Grupo Romero is a Peruvian family group founded in Piura more than a century ago. Its best-known company is Alicorp, which makes cooking oil, pasta, detergent and other household staples.
Pesquera Centinela was the first business to go. Exalmar agreed in April 2025 to buy all its shares, and closed the purchase on 5 August 2025.
Caña Brava followed. Alicorp, its majority owner, signed in April 2025 and completed the sale of 80% to Guatemala’s Ingenio Magdalena in July 2025.
Caña Brava grows sugar cane on about 9,400 hectares in Piura. It makes ethanol, sugar and electricity, and Grupo Romero kept the remaining 20%.
Primax Was the Biggest Piece
Primax is the fuel retailer the group built from 2005. It runs more than 2,000 service stations in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay.
On 13 August 2025 the group agreed to sell 80% of Primax to UNO Corp of Honduras. It kept 20% in Peru and Ecuador, and sold the Colombian arm outright.
Colombia’s competition regulator cleared that part on 18 June 2026, and UNO Corp closed it on 24 June. Earlier reports that Saudi Aramco would buy Primax never turned into a deal.
The President’s Denial, in His Own Words
Manuel Romero Valdez became group president in January 2026, after Dionisio Romero Paoletti retired. He said there had been “una brecha evidente dentro del portafolio” — a clear gap inside the portfolio.
On fishing, he said the group left because it was not hitting competitive return targets. His words were: “Salimos del negocio pesquero porque consideramos que no se alcanzaban las metas competitivas para obtener buenos retornos.”
Of Primax he said it was a business the group was proud of. But he added it lacked “tanta visibilidad de cómo se vería en 20 años”.
In plain terms, the group could not see how the fuel business would look in 20 years.
On the exit talk he was blunt. He said: “Actualmente, el grupo tiene un patrimonio mayor en Perú que hace 10 o 12 años.”
He then called the idea that the group is leaving the country “totalmente equivocada” — completely mistaken. He was speaking at the McKinsey Forum Perú 2026, as reported by Gestión and Perú Retail.
What Grupo Romero Still Owns in Peru
Alicorp remains the core. The group held more than 87% of its shares by mid-2026 and is weighing a move off the Lima exchange.
In power, the group closed its purchase of Orygen Perú in March 2026. Orygen has 13 plants and 2.3 gigawatts of capacity, and ranked second in Peru by output in 2024.
In ports, Grupo Tramarsa runs the Matarani and Salaverry terminals. Global Infrastructure Partners has held half of Tramarsa since 2023, with Grupo Romero holding the rest.
The family also keeps a large stake in Credicorp, owner of Banco de Crédito del Perú. A Credicorp filing in the United States put the Romero family at 12.29% of common shares at end-2024.
Other holdings include palm oil producer Palmas, the Samay power plant, and Energuate in Guatemala. Read together, the group is smaller in fuel and food crops, and much bigger in electricity.
Why the Grupo Romero Sales Matter to Investors in Latin America
Peru’s listed market is small, so one family’s choices move headline numbers. The three exits and the Orygen purchase reshape who owns fuel, farmland and power.
If you hold Alicorp shares, the delisting study matters more than the sales themselves. Minority holders would need a buyout offer before any exit from the Lima exchange.
For expats living in Peru, the practical change is ownership, not service. Primax stations, Alicorp brands and the two ports carry on under the same names.
Foreign investors often read a big family sale as a verdict on a country. Romero’s account points the other way, and the group bought one of Peru’s largest power generators this year.
What Is Still Not Known
No price has been published for Centinela, Caña Brava or Primax. Exalmar chose to keep its figure private, and the other two buyers did the same.
One Peruvian trade publication cited analyst estimates near US$1 billion for Primax. No party to the deal has confirmed any figure.
What Grupo Romero paid for Orygen has not been published either. Nor has the group said how the sale proceeds were split between debt, dividends and new deals.
A tender offer for the last 7.06% of Orygen Perú runs to 6 October 2026. It is priced at US$0.7298 a share, or up to US$161.5 million in total.
That result in October is the next public marker of how the new shape of the group settles.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grupo Romero leaving Peru?
Its president says no. He points to the purchase of Orygen Perú and to group assets in Peru larger than a decade ago.
Who bought Primax, Caña Brava and Centinela?
UNO Corp of Honduras took 80% of Primax. Ingenio Magdalena of Guatemala took 80% of Caña Brava, and Exalmar took all of Pesquera Centinela.
How much did the three sales raise?
No price has been published for any of them. Buyers and sellers have kept the figures private.
Sources: Grupo Romero and Primax company statements; Credicorp Form 20-F/A filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission; Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio of Colombia via Forbes Colombia; Gestión; Perú Retail; Infobae; Agraria.pe; LexLatin.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error
LatAm Markets: Live Signals → — real-time movers, turnover leaders and FX across Latin America.