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Image: Barramundi Group / FIS
Cooke buys Aussie barramundi farm but tight-lipped on its quest to invest in Spain
(AUSTRALIA, 8/3/2023)
The Cooke family of New Brunswick is adding another fish farming enterprise to its porfolio.
Its Australian subsidiary Tassal Group Ltd., which Cooke bought in late 2022 for $1.5 billion, has closed a deal with the Barramundi Group to purchase its Australia subsidiaries: MPA (Marine Produce Australia) Fish Farms Pty. Ltd. and MPA Marketing Pty. Ltd.
Photo: Barramundi Group
MPA operates Australia’s only ocean-based barramundi farm.
The farm is located at Cone Bay, Western Australia, and provides 50 local jobs in the Kimberley region.
According to a news release from Tassal Group, MPA currently produces about 1,600 tonnes of barramundi annually.
Source: Barramundi Group / Wiki / FIS
Barramundi is a sea bass that, according to the MPA website, “is a premium white fish with a sweet, buttery taste and delicate texture.”
Tassal Managing Director and CEO Mark Ryan said in the news release he looked forward to adding Australian ocean-farmed barramundi to the business.
“Tassal has turned around both the salmon and prawn industries in Australia before and has the skills and capabilities to apply the same learnings and intellectual capital to do this for the MPA companies and the wider barramundi industry in Australia,” he said.
“Once operations are consolidated, we will look at growth opportunities,” he added.
Tassal did not reveal how much it paid for MPA, but it is no secret that the barramundi operation has had financial challenges.
Fish Farmer Magazine reported last September that the Singapore-based Barramundi Group was considering the sale of its Australian operations.
In May, Fish Farmer reported that MPA had been placed into administration with a view to a complete reconstruction.
Barramundi marketed under the Tassal brand is due to land in Australian shops in November.
Meanwhile in Spain
Cooke remains tight-lipped, though, about its quest to invest in Spanish aquaculture company Neuva Pescanova.
In February, Spanish media outlet Faro de Vigo was reporting Cooke was in negotiations to purchase a majority stake in the company.
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Two days ago We are Aquaculture, citing information in a story by Faro de Vigo, noted that discussions between Cooke and Abanca, the majority shareholder in Nueva Pescanova, had cooled to the point where Abanca might break of negotiations with Cooke and start from scratch to find a new buyer.
According to those media reports, there is now a wide gap between what Abanca wants for the Nueva shares and what Cooke is willing to offer after conducting an external audit.
We Are Aquaculture reported on July 31 that Cooke was suggesting a reduced offer, from the initial EUR $150 million to $50 million ($215 million to $71.8 million), to buy 80 per cent of Nueva Pescanova’s shares and take on its liabilities of about $770,000 million CDN.
In June, responding to media reports from Spain at that time, Cooke said, “Contrary to recent press reports (the company) has not completed its due diligence investigation of Nueva Pescanova, S. L. nor has it delivered a revised offer to ABANCA.”
The company has not offered any comment since.
When contacted by SaltWire Tuesday, Cooke said it still has no comment on the potential acquisition.
Author: Barb Dean-Simmons | Saltwire
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media
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