Secondary producer of nutraceutical, seafood products and marine ingredients New Zealand Coastal Seafoods Limited (NZCS) has announced the intended acquisition of Nine Ocean Group.
NZCS confirmed that it has entered into a binding share purchase agreement with PXYY Pty Ltd and Nine Ocean Fishery Pty Ltd (together Nine Ocean) and Investment Advisers Alliance Pty Limited, a founding shareholder of Nine Ocean, to offer to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of the Nine Ocean Group.
It is a condition precedent of the transaction that the company also enters into a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Meridian Equity Pty Ltd, a related entity of Nine Ocean, for nil consideration.
With sales revenues totalling NZD 1.64 million in the financial year 2022, Nine Oceans is a seafood, fishing and wholesale export business headquartered in Cairns, Queensland with operations in the Torres Strait. The company was established in 2017.
According to NZCS CEO Andrew Peti, the proposed acquisition marks a unique opportunity to further establish NZCS as a leading producer of premium seafood products across Australia and New Zealand.
He said Nine Ocean’s business model operates is “in strong alignment with NZCS’ current strategy”, further leveraging its position as a preferred supplier of ethically sourced, high-quality seafood products, particularly for large Asian consumer markets.
“During our initial due diligence, the company has identified a number of synergies and opportunities to drive growth. We also plan to commit capital and the existing management team’s experience to scale Nine Ocean’s operations for the benefit of NZCS.
“In addition, the proposed transaction terms offer compelling value for NZCS shareholders, with the opportunity to acquire a leading domestic seafood company at an attractive multiple of FY21 and FY22 unaudited revenues. Taking those factors into account, the NZCS management team views the proposed transaction as a transformational acquisition for the business, with the capacity to add materially to long-term revenue and net profits,” Peti said.
The transaction is now subject to government, regulatory and shareholder approvals.
