Cooke Inc, parent company of Cooke Aquaculture Inc of New Brunswick, Canada, has entered into a deal through which it will buy Australia-headquartered salmon and shrimp company Tassal Group Limited.
The agreement is a Scheme Implementation Deed, under which Cooke (via a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary) has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Tassal for AUD 5.23 per share. The transaction price represents a premium of 49% to Tassal’s undisturbed closing share price on 22 June 2022, with the scheme price valuing Tassal’s equity at approximately AUD 1.1 billion.
“Tassal is an excellent fit with Cooke, as we see many similarities between our two companies. Our people and communities are very comparable as well, with agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, and forestry prominently supporting export-driven economies,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Inc.
Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, Tassal is the largest vertically integrated seafood producer and blue agri-tech business in Australia. With over 36 years’ experience, it employs more than 1,700 people in Tasmania and Australia who farmed 40,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon and 5,500 tonnes of black tiger shrimp in 2021 for domestic and export markets including Asia, New Zealand and the United States.
Tassal’s salmon farms span five marine zones, four freshwater hatcheries and four processing facilities in Tasmania, while shrimp farming, processing and seafood processing is undertaken in New South Wales and Queensland.
The company distributes salmon and prawns through its De Costi Seafood business in Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia, where it also sources and processes a wide range of seafood. Salmon is offered as fresh deli-grade, fresh packaged and smoked for supermarkets. Its shrimp are distributed through supermarkets, delicatessens, and fish markets under the Tropic Co trademark.
“We understand completely that the Tasmanian fish farming industry is Australia’s most valuable seafood production sector, and our top priority will be to work with other producers and government regulators on continuous environmental improvement plans as well as strengthening supply chain and local community relationships,” Cooke said.
“We intend to make strategic investments in engineering, science and technology to further enhance Tassal’s capabilities, in addition to growing their sales reach through leveraging our worldwide seafood distribution channels.”
Tassal Managing Director and CEO Mark Ryan said, “Combining our two companies’ people-first cultures and our shared passion for producing top quality seafood, is a natural fit. A future acquisition by Cooke enables Tassal to fast-track our goal to be one of the world’s most transparent and sustainable protein producers.”
At 115,000 tonnes annually, Cooke is the sixth largest farmed salmon producer in the world, and like Tassal, all Cooke feed mills, hatcheries, farms and processing operations are accredited by third-party organisations. The Tassal acquisition would put Cooke at 155,000 tonnes – closing in on becoming a top five producer.
The scheme is subject to the approval of Tassal shareholders, court approval and other customary closing conditions.
It is anticipated that the scheme will complete in late 2022
Australian investment bank Kidder Williams is acting as buy-side financial adviser for Cooke. Australian law firm Allens is acting as legal counsel for Cooke.
