SOUTH AFRICA – The Competition Tribunal is conditionally approving a merger in which Sea Harvest, a JSE-listed seafood and aquaculture company, will acquire several subsidiaries of Terrasan.
Announced in January, the R965 million (US$ 52 million) acquisition sees Sea Harvest’s Pelagic Fishing and Aquaculture subsidiaries taking over Terrasan’s Aqunion, Saldanha Sales and Marketing, and West Point Fishing operations.
Specifically, Sea Harvest is set to acquire 100% of Terrasan’s pelagic operation, West Point Fishing, and 63% of its abalone division, Aqunion.
This transaction involves Sea Harvest’s subsidiaries acquiring Terrasan’s businesses engaged in catching, processing, and selling pelagic fish, as well as farming, processing, and selling abalone.
The Tribunal’s conditional approval addresses concerns related to employment and the potential exchange of competitively sensitive information.
Sea Harvest’s core business involves fishing for cape hake in South Africa and prawns in Australia, processing these catches into frozen and non-frozen seafood products for marketing and sale, and sustainably farming and marketing abalone.
In the context of this transaction, Sea Harvest is already active in catching, processing, supplying, and marketing pelagic fish such as anchovies and pilchards, alongside its activities in the aquaculture industry.
The target subsidiaries of Terrasan include those operating the pelagic fishing business and the abalone business, known as the Aqunion Abalone Business.
Aqunion handles Terrasan’s abalone farming, ranching, processing, sales, marketing, and the manufacture and sale of aquafeed for abalone farming.
Saldanha Sales and Marketing and West Point Fishing manage Terrasan’s pelagic fish operations, collectively referred to as the Saldanha Fishing Business.
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