BOGOTA (Reuters) - Grupo Gilinski, Graystone Holdings, Grupo SURA and Grupo Argos got offers for 22.48% of Colombian food producer Grupo Nutresa in a public share offering, the stock exchange said on Wednesday.

The four entities got offers for 102,914,936 shares at $12 each, taking the total price of the offer to $1.23 billion, according to Reuters calculations.

The joint takeover bid had initially targeted 23.1% of Nutresa, equivalent to 105,730,373 shares.

The operation is subject to validation by the stock exchange.

The bid is part of an agreement reached in mid-2023 to help Grupo Gilinski and its partner International Holding Company (IHC) buy at least 87% of Nutresa's shares in exchange for exiting their stakes in Grupo SURA.

The deal came after a series of moves by Jaime Gilinski - one of Colombia's richest men and owner of Grupo Gilinksi - targeting companies in Grupo Empresarial Antioqueno (GEA), the country's largest conglomerate.

Over the last two years, Grupo Gilinski has launched bids to buy shares in Nutresa, SURA and Argos, taking significant stakes in the process, but agreed to take control of Nutresa in exchange for leaving other GEA firms alone.

Under the deal, SURA and Argos will exchange their Nutresa shares with Grupo Gilinski and Graystone, which represents IHC.

Grupo Gilinski and IHC, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, already held a combined 76.9% of Nutresa shares.

More details for the takeover bid can be found here.