Sea Harvest acquires Australia’s MG Kailis

Cape Town, South Africa-based frozen fish supplier Sea Harvest Group has signed a business purchase agreement to acquire Western Australia-based MG Kailis Holdings Proprietary Limited and its subsidiaries at a cost of AUD 70 million (USD 51 million, EUR 44.6 million) – excluding transaction costs.

The acquisition will be made through its wholly-owned Australian subsidiaries Sea Harvest Pty and Sea Harvest Marine Pty.

In a statement issued through the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Sea Harvest Group said it will acquire fishing and related businesses from MG Kailis. The purchase includes vessels, licenses, and fishing rights for prawns in the Exmouth region and trawled fish in the Pilbara region in Western Australia, providing the group with further security of supply and diversification of product.

MG Kailis is one of Australia’s leading vertically-integrated prawn and fish trawling, seafood trading, and engineering companies, according to Sea Harvest Group. The acquisition is expected to be completed on 1 April, 2022.

“The acquisition is a significant step in the execution of the Sea Harvest Group’s investment strategy of acquisitive growth in the international seafood space focusing on businesses of scale in high-value seafood species,” Sea Harvest said.

Ffor the six months ended 30 June, 2021, Sea Harvest experienced a 5 percent increase in its revenue to ZAR 2.1 billion (USD 136.7 million EUR 119.3 million) on the back of strong performances from the South African Fishing segment, the Cape Harvest Foods, segment and the Australian operations. The company told its shareholders the newly acquired assets will be held by Sea Harvest Marine, which is a newly registered wholly owned subsidiary of Sea Harvest Australia.

Sea Harvest’s acquisition of MG Kailis will need approval by Australian regulatory authorities, as will its transfer of the necessary fishing and ancillary licenses, permits, and authorizations.

Furthermore, the managing director of MG Kailis is expected to sign an employment agreement with Sea Harvest Australia “to integrate the combined businesses for a minimum period of up to 18 months.”

Sea Harvest, which has an estimated 4,200 employees, said it expects to have majority of staff at the acquired MG Kailis accept offers of employment.  

Photo courtesy of MG Kailis