SANTIAGO – Agrosuper, one of Chile’s top food producers, has reported the purchase of 67% of the salmon company Empresas AquaChile SA to its majority shareholders, in addition to the launch of a Public Offer of Shares (OPA) to acquire up to 100% of the company.
AquaChile, one of Chile’s largest salmon producers, had recently struck a $255 million deal to purchase two smaller Chilean fish farming operations, boosting the company’s access to the Magallanes region of Patagonia, a prime area of cold water ideal for salmon rearing.
According to Agrosuper, the acquisition reinforces its vocation to produce food of the highest quality, together with responsible production with the environment.
The company indicated that the operation is subject to the approval of the free competition authority and could reach a value of US$ 850 million.
@AgrosuperSA acuerda la compra del 67% de la salmonera AquaChile para potenciar segmento acuícola. Más detalles aquí: https://t.co/FqVTZcVc6l
— Agrosuper S.A. (@AgrosuperSA) August 6, 2018
“Agrosuper values the agreement reached with the majority shareholders of Empresas AquaChile SA, who in their 30 years of history and with a highly trained and committed team, have contributed strongly to the development of the salmon industry, so we want to have your input, knowledge and commitment in the future, to jointly continue contributing to position the country as agri-food power,” the company said in a statement.
After the news, Aquachile shares rose 10.8% to $ 454 in the first operations in the Santiago Stock Exchange.
Several salmon producing companies in Chile have moved to consolidate in recent months as demand and prices for salmon have increased and Chilean operations recover from several years of devastating outbreaks of red tide and salmon-specific viruses.
In 2016, an outbreak of red tide in Chile killed millions of fish, devastating the world’s second biggest salmon exporter and resulting in losses upwards of $800 million.
