Pro Medicus co-founder Anthony Hall has launched a bid for kingfish farmer Clean Seas

Pro Medicus co-founder Anthony Hall’s ambition to grow a seafood production empire continues with a bid launched to take over kingfish farmer Clean Seas Seafood.

Anthony Hall is building a seafood empire. Picture: Supplied

Pro Medicus co-founder Anthony Hall is on the takeover trail again, seeking to grow his seafood production empire via a takeover offer for struggling South Australian kingfish farmer Clean Seas Seafood.

Mr Hall’s seafood company Yumbah Aquaculture has lobbed a 14c per share offer for the Port Lincoln company, whose shares last changed hands at 9.2c, valuing the company at $17.7m.

Clean Seas has struggled with profitability in recent years, posting profits of $8.7m and $5.9m in 2022 and 2023, before falling to a $33.5m loss last financial year, with several one-off writedowns weighing on that result.

Yumbah in April last year moved to a 19.8 per cent stake in Clean Seas, adding on-market purchases to a large stake picked up in a 2023 capital raising.

Mr Hall has been an aquaculture investor for more than two decades, and co-founded Mornington-based mussel producer Bay Sea Farms.

Clean Seas Seafood's Kingfish operations in South Australia. Picture: Supplied

This was restructured into Yumbah Aquaculture in 2016, with the latter producing more than 2600 tonnes of abalone annually per across four farms in Tasmania, Victoria and SA.

Yumbah also produces oysters and oyster spat across three states and in August 2023 year bought Australia’s largest mussel farmer and processor – Eyre Peninsula Seafoods – in a transaction rumoured to be worth $15m to $20m.

Yumbah also took over formerly-listed oyster company East 33 in an offer launched in August last year.

Mr Hall co-founded medical imaging technology company Pro Medicus which is now worth $29.2bn.

The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it was the largest abalone producer in the Southern Hemisphere, specialising in onshore production.

Yumbah Aquaculture is the largest abalone producer in Australia.

Yumbah is offering Clean Seas shareholders cash or Yumbah scrip with the amount to be offered under the scrip option to be determined at a later date.

The Clean Seas board has established an independent committee to asses the proposal, and at this early stage says it intends to recommend the transaction subject to a favourable independent expert's report and no better offer being received.

Yumbah now has until March 24 to undertake due diligence and prepare a binding scheme implementation deed.

Mr Hall owns 53.6 per cent of Yumbah.

Originally published as Pro Medicus co-founder Anthony Hall has launched a bid for kingfish farmer Clean Seas