Australian aquaculture firm Tassal Group Ltd has confirmed that it has rejected of a conditional proposal from Cooke Inc to acquire 100% of Tassal’s ordinary shares for a cash consideration of AUD 4.85 per share.
The Canadian aquaculture company’s offer valued Tassal at AUD 1.04 billion.
This indicative proposal follows previous offers from Cooke for AUD 4.67 and AUD 4.80 per share.
In a statement, Tassal advised that its board evaluated those proposals and chose not to engage in relation to them.
With regards to the latest offer, it stated, “The company’s Board of Directors has evaluated the indicative proposal with the assistance of its financial advisor and has determined that the indicative proposal does not reflect the fundamental value of the business and is not in the best interests of the shareholders. Accordingly, the company’s board has determined not to engage with Cooke regarding the indicative proposal.”
It added, “The company’s board of directors believes Tassal has an attractive future and is well positioned to deliver growth in shareholder value.”
Tassal is a vertically integrated Atlantic salmon and shrimp grower, processor and seller. In the financial year 2021, it produced 40,018 tonnes of salmon and 3,915 tonnes of shrimp.
