Round 2 in the Clash of the Titans between salmon giants Marine Harvest and Cermaq kicked off late this week in Norway with rumours of a counter-offer from the world's largest farming corporation. BusinessWeek/Bloomberg reported (3 May):
Read more via Clash of the Titans: Cermaq Vs Marine Harvest
Intrafish reported (3 May) pushback on the mega-merger from the Socialist Left Party (SV) – a partner in Norway's coalition Government:
Norway's Labour Party – the dominant coalition partner who include the former chairman of Cermaq as their Minister of Finance and salmon farm owner Lisbeth-Berg Hansen as the Minister of Fisheries – are staying silent. Intrafish reported (3 May):
Keep up-dated on all the latest news via Intrafish – online here
But Marine Harvest will certainly not take no for an answer. Marine Harvest is owned by 'Viking Raider' John Fredriksen who is used to getting what he wants – Fredriksen is the 87th richest person in the world worth an eye-popping $11.5 billion according to the Forbes Rich List.
Read more via Mmm Mega-Marine Harvest: Super-Liced Salmon! and Salmon Giant Eats Salmon Giant – Marine Harvest takeover of Cermaq!
Forbes famously described John Fredriksen as "a murky character notorious for rowdy drinking binges and
playing rough with takeover targets".
Norway's richest man piled on the pressure by raising his stake in Cermaq buying another 700,000 shares. CNBC/Reuters reported (3 May):
Earlier in the week, the 'Big Wolf' (John Fredriksen's nickname and the title of his unauthorized biography 'Storeulv') blew a further $154 million on Marine Harvest shares – a drop into the bucket of his $11.5 billion fortune.
Norway's state broadcaster NRK reported (6 May) on "The Battle To Be King of the Seas" – featuring a photo of Marine Harvest owner John Fredriksen from the film 'Salmonopoly':
Cermaq's AGM on 21 May in Oslo, Norway, is expected to be D-Day with Marine Harvest's hostile takeover offer considered by the Board of Directors which include Marine Harvest's former CEO Åse Aulie Michelet. However, Cermaq's CEO will go down fighting. Intrafish reported (6 May):
The brutal battle is expected to continue until then as the hostile takeover goes the distance.
A mega-merger between Marine Harvest and Cermaq would create mega-problems. Before last year's Marine Harvest AGM, Alexandra Morton wrote to Marine Harvest's current CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog:
Cermaq was also informed prior to their AGM in 2012 of the disease risks in British Columbia in particular.
Cermaq were warned back in May 2011 when GAAIA wrote to the Board of
Directors, the Oslo Stock Exchange, shareholders and financial analysts
concerning the non-disclosure of disease data. Read the letter online here
Cermaq's new CEO Jon Hindar was warned again in May 2012 of the
disease risks associated with Cermaq's operations in British Columbia. Read the letter online here
Read more via Cermaq's Disease Problems Go Viral!