Spinnova is weighing acquisitions in Spain as a growth route, with chief commercial officer Mikko Lassila calling the country a "very interesting place from a raw material perspective", particularly for cotton textile recycling. The Finnish fibre company has already contacted several Spanish textile businesses and executives, he told Modaes, in comments translated from Spanish.

The interest sits one tier up the supply chain from garment manufacturing: Spinnova buys recycled and raw fibre inputs, and Spain's concentration of textile recycling capacity makes it a sourcing target rather than a production one. Lassila pointed to northern Spain and its local players as offering the greatest potential.

Where does Tearfil fit in?

Don't expect a Spanish deal imminently. Spinnova's near-term priority is completing a proposed acquisition of Portuguese spinner Tearfil, under a non-binding letter of intent signed for €500,000 ($580,000) in cash and shares, plus a €1.5 million ($1.7m) loan.

"We are now a little less than halfway to completing the acquisition and it is our priority," Lassila said. That puts a Spanish transaction realistically months behind the Portuguese one — and the non-binding status of the Tearfil letter means neither deal is yet a confirmed commitment.

"Even though our focus for now is on Portuguese spinning, Spain will remain a very interesting option for us," Lassila added.

Why Spain, and why recycling?

Lassila's framing — raw materials first, manufacturing second — signals where European fibre players see feedstock risk. Cotton textile recycling has attracted policy support and brand demand as the EU pushes circularity requirements onto textiles, which effectively converts sustainability claims into compliance items for brands sourcing in the region.

For Spinnova, acquiring capacity in Iberia rather than building it would shorten the path to securing recycled cotton feedstock at scale. Portugal anchors the spinning end of that plan through Tearfil; Spain, in Lassila's assessment, offers the raw material pool.

What's confirmed versus rumour?

Two things are confirmed by Lassila's own comments to Modaes: the Tearfil letter of intent with its €500,000 price tag and €1.5 million loan, and direct contact with Spanish textile businesses. Everything beyond that — targets, valuations, timing — remains undefined, and no Spanish company has been named.

The Tearfil deal itself is not closed. Lassila's "a little less than halfway" assessment is the only public marker of progress, so buyers and suppliers watching for consolidation in Iberian spinning should treat completion as pending, not done.

What decision does this force?

For sourcing teams at brands using Spinnova fibre, the calculus is straightforward: if Tearfil closes, vertically integrated European spinning capacity tightens further, and recycled-content claims gain a traceable EU-based supply chain behind them. For Spanish recyclers and spinners, an active acquirer with stated intent is now in the market — worth knowing before any rival approaches land.