The voluntary acceptance period for the offer by Norwegian seafood farmer Marine Harvest to buy out competitor Cermaq has expired, and due to lack of interest by Cermaq, the buyout offer is officially off the table.
The news follows weeks of open statements by Cermaq’s board of directors and major shareholders who said they were not interested in Marine Harvest’s buyout offer.
Despite the lack of interest, Marine Harvest was obligated to keep the offer open to Cermaq shareholders until the offer’s acceptance period officially expired today. A statement from Marine Harvest did not reveal how many, if any, of Cermaq’s shareholders accepted the offer, only that not enough accepted it to close the deal.
“Accordingly, Marine Harvest will not complete the voluntary offer and all acceptances received are automatically released,” Marine Harvest wrote.
The announcement marks the end of one chapter in a series of developments around Cermaq’s future, starting earlier this year, when Cermaq made a bid to buy out Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil producer Copeinca.
Shortly afterward, Marine Harvest made its bid for Cermaq itself, under the condition that Cermaq give up trying to buy Copeinca.
Cermaq’s shareholders did elect to abandon the Copeinca bid, but now they have also rejected Marine Harvest’s offer, too. Cermaq’s board has stated that the company is in the process of seeking out other potential buyers to sell part or all of the company to.
