Israel Corp., controlled by Idan Ofer, has announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase at least a 15% of the shares of Norwegian aquaculture company AKVA Group, which is traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Israel. Corp will invest $65 million at 96.5 Norwegian Kroner per share, a 17.7% premium on yesterday's closing price, Trend reports with reference to Globes.
As part of the transaction, Israel Corp. will become entitled to appoint one board member in AKVA as long as it holds minimum 12% ownership position in the company.
The deal follows years in which Israel Corp. has been realizing assets rather than investing in new ventures.
Israel Corp CEO Yoav Doppelt said, "We look forward to working with AKVA to accelerate growth in sustainable food production and further develop AKVA's technological leadership within the aquaculture industry. Our discussions with AKVA convinced us that AKVA is a leading global player in the aquaculture industry, and best positioned to capture the global land-based opportunity."
AKVA CEO Knut Nesse added, "We are very pleased to welcome Israel Corp. as a long-term, strategic shareholder in AKVA. We believe that Israel Corp.’s global business experience and technology background will contribute to our goal to build a world-leading offering of technical & digital solutions within sea and land-based aquaculture. "This transaction will enable AKVA to accelerate the execution of our current strategy, to significantly step up our innovation agenda, and to transform our land-based strategy."