Tassal in talks to acquire shrimp firm in Australia

Australian fish farming company Tassal Group is undergoing negotiations to acquire an undisclosed shrimp firm, which is said to be one of its suppliers.

Tasmania-based Tassal is claimed to be one of the largest producers of Tasmanian-grown Atlantic salmon in the country.

A filing submitted by Tassal to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) stated that the undisclosed firm operates shrimp farms across a number of regions, including Yamba and Hamilton Bay in New South Wales (NSW), as well as Mission Beach in Queensland.

The Tasmanian firm intends to combine the synergies of the two seafood supply companies through the planned acquisition.

Tassal also informed ASX that the company is still exploring various strategic growth opportunities to boost its presence in the sustainable seafood business, while delivering strong returns for its shareholders.

According to Tassal, the ongoing discussions with the undisclosed shrimp supplier form part of its current growth strategy.

The companies have yet to sign any agreements and it is still uncertain if the deal will proceed further, or if the acquisition proposal will be executed or not.

Tassal previously acquired Lidcombe, New South Wales-based seafood firm De Costi in 2015.

De Costi is offers its own line of packaged seafood products, in addition to supplying products to the wholesale and catering markets.

At the time of executing the 2015 agreement, Tassal chairman Allan McCallum said: “The De Costi seafoods business is one of the largest in Australia’s seafood industry.

“It has access to the best seafood range, a strong capability to process a wide variety of seafood, market leading seafood expertise, and a central location that enables it to service retailers down the east coast of Australia and South Australia.

“The De Costi seafoods business is extremely complementary to Tassal and consistent with our salmon and seafood strategy.”