MARC HASENFUSS: Oceana fishing for deals
Investors who have followed Oceana closely over the past few years will know Francois Kuttel has a nose for a deal
Oceana Group, now one of the largest fishing enterprises in the world, may have hooked up a reassuring arrangement for a secure supply of fish to its Louisiana-based fish oil and fish meal subsidiary, Daybrook Fisheries. Last week some market watchers were a tad perplexed by the news that the highly rated Francois Kuttel would resign as Oceana CEO immediately after being named as a preferred bidder to acquire 75% of Westbank Fishing — the company that supplies menhaden fish to Daybrook. Though Kuttel was widely expected to stand down at Oceana in the next 12 to 18 months, the resignation was rather sudden. What did erase initial misgivings was the realisation that the proposed arrangement effectively locks in Kuttel’s skills for the longer term. Of course, some observers may still raise eyebrows about this related-party arrangement. However, one should remember that proposals need to get past Oceana’s large shareholders, consumer brands giant Tiger Brands and savvy empowerment inves...
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