China Fishery Group on Thursday upped the stakes in its battle to acquire Copeinca with a new takeover offer that matches one from Cermaq.
China Fishery increased its offer price for the Peruvian fishmeal company from NOK 53.85 (USD 9.45, EUR 7.19) to NOK 59.70 (USD 10.47, EUR 7.97), to match Cermaq’a own NOK 59.70 bid. China Fishery has also extended its offer to include the 11.7 million new Copeinca shares issued to Cermaq on 5 April, meaning its offer is now for the entire company.
The increase in the offer price may cause the acquisition to exceed the USD 600 million (EUR 457 million) originally approved by China Fishery’s shareholders. The new offer has yet to be approved, the company said shareholders of 70.51 percent of China Fishery have given irrevocable undertakings to vote in favor of the move, as have shareholders of 54.9 percent of parent company Pacific Andes.
China Fishery currently controls 32.3 percent of Copeinca’s shares and the offer was extended to 10 May from 12 April.
