A wealth adviser says that a Canadian seafood company is pretty serious about taking control of Tasmanian salmon giant Tassal, which could leave the entire state's salmon industry in the hands of foreign investors.
Tassal has rejected a third takeover bid from Cooke, which is based in Canada and has salmon farms in 10 countries, according to a statement released by the ASX overnight.
Tassal said that it would not consider Cooke's offer to buy the business for $4.85 a share, and had previously rejected offers of $4.67 and $4.80.
The board of directors believes that Tassal has an attractive, independent future and is well-positioned to deliver growth in shareholder value. The board of directors and management team remain focused on building on the company's long history and delivering on our strategic objectives. The company pointed out that it would consider future offers, and whether Tassal would stay in Tasmanian hands.
Cooke already has a 5.4 per cent stake in Tassal and had tried to buy Huon Aquaculture, losing out to Brazilian meat processor JBS.
Speaking on ABC's Country Hour, Shadforths Financial Group private wealth adviser Sam Baker said Cooke had been trying to get a foothold in Australian aquaculture for some time. They are known by the Foreign Investment Review Board and the Government to have pre-approvals in place, which is not the case with JBS.
While it was business as usual at Tassal, the ball was back in Cooke's court.
It's now back to Cooke as to whether or not to raise the takeover offer, which will put the board of Tassal in a position where they can start to engage formally with a process, he said.
It is certainly very uncertain as to what will happen. The expectation that there could be a transaction at some point in the future is one of the immediate effects of the purchase of Tassal shares. A Cooke company spokesman said the ABC was referring to a previous statement on its Tassal bid, which did not clarify whether future offers would be made.
In recent years, Tasmania's two other major salmon producers - Huon Aquaculture and Petuna - have become entirely foreign-owned.
The island's premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said the takeovers were a vote of confidence in the state's salmon industry.
It is a vote of confidence in investing in food and beverage and aquaculture in Tasmania, more broadly, Mr Rockliff said.
We would prefer Australians to invest in their local businesses and their local companies as well, but investment opportunities come from various quarters across the globe.