Mowi’s acquisition of a majority share in seafood peer Nova Sea has been put below scrutiny by the European Fee.
The Norwegian seafood big introduced in January it might enhance its stake in Nova Sea by snapping up an extra 46% within the salmon processor held by investor Vigner Olaisen. That might give Mowi a 95% controlling share.
Now, the EU public authority mentioned in a press release yesterday (22 September) it’s inviting feedback from events on the transaction after receiving notification of the deal on 12 September.
The EC organisation is inviting feedback for ten days from the date of its assertion.
On preliminary examination, the EC mentioned it finds that the transaction “may fall throughout the scope of the Merger Regulation” however added “the ultimate choice on this level is reserved”.
Simply Meals has contacted Mowi for remark.
The deal would see Mowi taking Vigner Olaisen’s stake in Nova Sea for Nkr7.4bn ($748m at present).
The seafood group has held a minority stake in Nova Sea since 1995. The enterprise mentioned 30% of the cost for the extra curiosity will likely be made by way of Mowi shares, whereas 70% will likely be in money.
The deal is alleged to worth Nova Sea at Nkr16bn.
The EC defined that the enterprise actions of Mowi cowl the complete worth chain for Norwegian Farmed Atlantic Salmon (NFAS), by means of “feed, farming and international gross sales and processing”, whereas Nova Sea is simply energetic within the farming and first processing a part of the availability chain.
Mowi will even prolong a voluntary money provide of Nkr800m to shareholders proudly owning the remaining 5% of Nova Sea.
Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim mentioned in January: “Nova Sea is a frontrunner within the Norwegian aquaculture {industry} and is thought for its glorious organic efficiency and industry-leading margins.
“Over 50 years, the corporate and the Olaisen household have invested within the organisation and developed it into a powerful, absolutely built-in operation. It’s subsequently with nice pleasure that we are actually, after 30 years, combining our operations.”
Along with the stake acquisition, Nova Sea board chairman Aino Olaisen will likely be proposed as a brand new board member at Mowi.
Nova Sea anticipates harvesting 52,000 tonnes of salmon in 2025.
With the elevated possession, Mowi and Nova Sea collectively are anticipated to reap 157,000 tonnes of salmon in northern Norway in 2025, contributing to a complete harvest quantity of 367,000 tonnes in Norway and 572,000 tonnes globally.
Mowi mentioned it expects the mixing to generate synergies of roughly Nkr400m yearly, pushed by improved capability utilisation and focused investments to reinforce fish well being.
