The Basque government intends to invest €15m in local food business Kaiku through the investment fund Ekarpen.  

Kaiku is a dairy group with operations in Spain, Chile, Mexico and Argentina. The investment by Ekarpen will support its international growth and strengthen its balance sheet.

Ekarpen, which backs Basque SMEs, is 50 per cent owned by Kutxabank, and partly owned by the Basque municipal authority.

The Basque government previously owned a stake in the company but sold it to Swiss dairy group Emmi two weeks ago. The new investment is higher than what the government received for the sale of its shares.