The offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares in NTS ASA that was made last month by a group of shareholders in the Norwegian aquaculture group will not be promoted any further because of the second offer on the table, made by Atlantic salmon farming giant Mowi ASA.
According to the latest Oslo Stock Exchange notice issued by NTS, the shareholder group’s offer – announced on 17 January, 2022 – was conditional on no competing offer having been announced with a higher offer price, but following Mowi's announced offer on 24 January, this condition is no longer met, and it has therefore been decided that the first offer will not be promoted.
The shareholder group, which represents more than 50 percent of the shares in NTS, offered to purchase all outstanding NTS shares for NOK 105 (USD 11.91, EUR 10.42) per share. This offer valued NTS’s equity at NOK 13.2 billion (USD 1.5 billion, EUR 1.3 billion). It said the rationale for the offer was to seek to protect and further develop share values in NTS by continuing to explore alternatives for its shareholders, including selling the shares.
Mowi’s offer is to acquire all of the shares for NOK 110 (USD 12.48, EUR 10.91) per share. This values NTS’s equity at around NOK 13.8 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.4 billion).
NTS Group is a fully integrated salmon farmer, which produces around 84,000 gutted weight tons (GWT) in production areas 7 to 12 in Norway and Iceland. It also holds 7.7 development licenses in Arctic Offshore Farming, and the aqua service company Frøy ASA.
Carnegie AS is NTS’s financial advisor and Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS is its legal advisor.
Photo courtesy of NTS
