TGR - Tassal Group

Canadian seafood giant Cooke hooksTassal investors, lifting stake to 7.6pc in $1.04bn takeover tilt​

Hundreds of Tassal investors have sold their shares to Cooke, despite the board of the ASX-listed salmon producer rebuffing a $1.04bn takeover from the Canadian seafood giant.
In an after market announcement on Friday, Cooke revealed it had extended its stake in Tassal from 5.4 to 7.6 per cent.

This places the company within the key 10 per cent threshold, a holding large enough to potentially block a rival takeover offer.

More than 630 Tassal investors sold shares to Cooke on Friday at an average price of $4.82 a share. This was despite Tassal’s board telling shareholders that the Cooke offer of $4.85 a share undervalued the company, which it said had an “attractive independent future” and was “well positioned to deliver growth in shareholder value”.

Tassal’s board has rejected three offers from Cooke, with the previous bids priced at $4.67 and $4.80 a share.

Cooke has spent $21.68m in the past two days extending its holding in Tassal. The spending spree this week has sent Tassal shares surging 25.3 per cent, closing at $4.85 on Friday.

It had previously bid for Tassal’s smaller rival Huon, which was ultimately sold to Brazilian meat processing giant JBS for $425m last year, and made its first play for Tassal in January 2011.

Cooke has been buying shares via Amore Foods, a company controlled by its advisor David Williams, who bought Tassal from receivership in 2004 before floating it on the ASX.

Meanwhile, Mr Williams said Cooke’s offer was a “whale of a price for shareholders”.

Click to expand...

Takeover target Tassal puts salmon on more shelves

Tasmanian salmon farmer Tassal, which is a takeover target for Canadian fish farmer Cooke, has begun supplying fresh packaged salmon portions to major Australian food retailer Coles.

Tassal, which produced 40,000 gutted weight tonnes of salmon in its 2021 financial year, is offering fresh salmon skin on and skin off variations, fillets in sauce, salmon burgers, and diced salmon.

Some products are in a skin pack and others in a ready-to-cook foil tray.

Last month Tassal Group, which also grows prawns, rejected an A$1.04 billion (£589 million) takeover offer from family-owned Cooke, which farms salmon in Canada, the US, Scotland, and Chile.

Independent future
Tassal said the offer did not reflect the fundamental value of its business and was not in the best interests of shareholders.

“The Company’s Board of Directors believes Tassal has an attractive independent future and is well positioned to deliver growth in shareholder value,” stated Tassal. “The Board of Directors and management team remain focused on building on the company’s long history and delivering on our strategic objectives.”

Coles operates around 800 stores in Australia. Tassel products are also available at grocery chain Woolworths, which has more than 1,000 outlets in Australia and New Zealand.

Click to expand...

Dona Ferentes said:

Tassal Group says its board has accepted an improved $5.23 per share takeover offer from Canadian aquaculture group Cooke Seafood.

The bid values Tassal at $1.1 billon, or $1.7 billion on an enterprise value basis after accounting for debt.

Shareholders will vote on the proposed offer in November.

Click to expand...

Belli said:

ARG was a substantial holder until yesterday. Made around $11m in just under 12 months.

Click to expand...