Agricultural investor Laguna Bay makes play for Coffin Bay Oyster farmer Angel Seafood Holdings
Agricultural investor Laguna Bay has launched a takeover bid for oyster grower Angel Seafood, which was caught up in the recent sales ban.
Coffin Bay oyster grower Angel Seafood Holdings has received a 20c per share takeover offer from agricultural investor Laguna Bay Group.
The South Australian oyster company, which last week restarted sales from its Coffin Bay leases in the wake of an industry-wide closure due to a vibrio parahaemolyticus outbreak, said it had decided to engage further with Laguna on the bid, which was pitched at a 60 per cent premium to the company’s last closing share price on Friday, December 17.
Angel shares closed 44 per cent higher on Monday at 18c, with more than four million changing hands.
The bid comes in at the same price the company raised funds at during its initial public offer, with Angel listing on the ASX in February 2018 after raising $8m.
The company was valued at $20.2m based on Friday’s closing price.
Major investors in Angel Seafood include chief executive Zac Halman and his family, which own more than 22.5 million shares or more than 13.5 per cent of the company, and Thorney Investment group, which has been a buyer in recent months, increasing its shareholding from 14.6 per cent to 15.9 per cent in November.
Angel Seafood told the ASX that Laguna’s bid was predicated on a “strong preference that Isaac Halman (being Angel’s founder, chief executive officer and director) and his associated entities retain a significant proportion of their shareholding in Angel’’.
“The form and extent of such retention (if any) sought by Laguna Bay has not been confirmed.’’
Angel has entered an exclusivity agreement with Laguna which will end on February 10, 2022, and which has a $200,000 break fee subject to conditions.
“The board of Angel notes that there is no certainty that the indicative proposal will result in a binding offer or result in the entry into a scheme implementation agreement,’’ the company said in a statement to the ASX.
“Shareholders do not need to take any action in relation to the indicative proposal.’’
Angel was caught up in the recent recall and ban on sales of Coffin Bay oysters following some consumers becoming ill after eating raw oysters in November.
The company said on December 14 that no negative test results had been recorded against its products and that it had been cleared to restart harvesting and sales, and was ramping up production to meet peak season demand.
Early in November the company said it had achieved a record month of sales, selling 1.4 million oysters and setting a new monthly revenue record of $1.2m.
The sales figure was up 120 per cent on the same month in 2020. The company made a net profit of $489,000 in the first half of the calendar year, on record revenues of $3.6m, up 46 per cent.
Queensland-based Laguna was set up in 2010 and runs two funds which invest in Australian agricultural assets.
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