Norway-based Marine Harvest has indicated it intends to make an offer to purchase its rival, Cermaq, but only if Cermaq gives up its bid to purchase a controlling interest in Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil company Copeinca.
In a release issued today, Marine Harvest indicated it will make an offer of NOK 105 (USD 18.18, EUR 13.82) per share of Cermaq, which is 22 percent above the Cermaq 30 April closing price. Marine Harvest has already purchased over 4 million shares in Cermaq, about 4.7 percent of Cermaq’s share capital. The new offer, according to the Marine Harvest Board of Directors, is for “all outstanding shares.”
"In our view, no other industrial combination than Cermaq and Marine Harvest is better suited to lift both the companies and the Norwegian marine industry into a position of global leadership,” said Marine Harvest Chairman Ole-Eirik Lerøy. “We wish to build an integrated protein company emphasizing feed, farming and value-added processing; moving away from the traditional raw materials role of Norwegian companies.”
The offer, however, is contingent upon Cermaq giving up its effort to take over Copeinca. The Peruvian firm’s future has been in doubt ever since China Fishery Group made an offer to purchase it.
Copeinca rejected that offer, and soon afterward, Cermaq made its own takeover offer, which China Fishery matched in a second bid.
Now, with the Marine Harvest offer on the table, it seems Cermaq executives have a decision to make, a fact alluded to in Marine Harvest’s statement of intent.
“Marine Harvest is offering the shareholders in Cermaq the option to choose between two industrially different transactions with significantly different value creation prospects,” Marine Harvest said in its statement.
Cermaq shareholders are expected to decide which way they will go at the company’s annual general meeting on 21 May. Marine Harvest has delayed its own annual general meeting until 23 May, to see what Cermaq decides.
