Norwegian aquaculture company Cermaq ASA sold all its shares in Marine Farms ASA (MAFA) to Morpol for NOK 18.50 (€2.32/$3.03) per share on Friday 17 September having only bought 24.6% of MAFA shares three days earlier.
Through several transactions on Tuesday 14 September 2010 Cermaq obtained an ownership in MAFA of 43%, and announced its intention to present a mandatory offer to acquire the remaining shares in the company.
But the company has now entered into an agreement to divest all its shares in MAFA to Morpol ASA at a price of NOK 18.50 per share.
As Cermaq completed its transactions, Morpol acquired a significant ownership in MAFA. Based on this situation, Cermaq said that Morpol was in a position to develop MAFA's activity in Scotland in “a positive way” and that a sale of Cermaq's shares to Morpol was “a good financial solution” for Cermaq.
"We are overall very pleased with this transaction," CEO Geir Isaksen said. "We have actively contributed to solve a complicated ownership situation for the company, secured a solid financial result for Cermaq and at the same time ensured that we maintain a significant financial capacity for growth within our core business".
Cermaq has sold a total of 15.8 million shares corresponding to 43% of the shares in MAFA for NOK 292 million (€36.7 million/$47.8 million), equivalent to NOK 18.50 per share.
