Cooke Inc, parent company of salmon producer Cooke Aquaculture of New Brunswick, Canada, has placed a non-binding offer to purchase salmon farmer Tassal Group based in Tasmania, Australia, but Tassal rejected it.
Cooke Inc proposed a $4.80 per share takeover.
“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 shareholders. Accordingly, the Company’s Board has determined not to engage with Cooke regarding the Indicative Proposal,” Tassal said in a statement released in the early hours of June 28 in Australia.
The news sent Tassal’s share price to rise 13.85 percent in the ASX stock exchange roughly an hour following the announcement.
Last week, Cooke bought 11.6 million shares, corresponding to 5.4 percent of Tassal, thus today’s news of the company placing a non-binding offer to purchase Tassal Group was not a surprise to some industry watchers.
