Finality on Viking Fishing deal

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Sea Harvest Group hopes to close a deal for Viking Fishing in early July, according to an announcement last week Wednesday.

Sea Harvest announced the plans to buy all of the Viking fishing business and a 51% stake in its aquaculture operation in December, but confirmed an agreement on June 13.

The closing date of the transaction is expected “to be on or about” 2 July, the company said.

According to the statement, Sea Harvest and the “broad-based black economic empowerment”, or “BBBEC” investors will pay a maximum of R888 million ($67m) for the Viking assets.

The deal will be funded by the consortium through a combination of cash, bank loans, an issue of 19.2m Sea Harvest ordinary shares and vendor funding, Sea Harvest said.

Sea Harvest will pay a maximum of ZAR 763m, consisting of a portion of the initial consideration amounting to ZAR 565m and a possible further ZAR 199m, depending on Viking’s financial performance.

The BBBEC investors will pay ZAR 124m. “In order to expedite and promote existing black participants” and new entrants to the fishing sector, Sea Harvest will be extending vendor funding and loans to fund this.

Sea Harvest sees the deal for Viking -- founded by entrepreneur Nico Bacon -- as “transformative”, as it allows for the diversification into other species and aquaculture, the source said.

The deal will also bolster Sea Harvest with Viking’s significant interests in South Africa’s trawl fishery for hake, the small pelagic fishery for sardine and anchovy, the west coast rock lobster fishery and the shrimp fishery; fleet of 31 fishing vessels; and processing facility in Cape Town, as well as smaller facilities in Mossel Bay and Durban.

Viking Aquaculture, established in 2011, holds interests in abalone, finfish, mussel and oyster farms.

Article: Undercurrent News

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