Brimstone may lift Sea Harvest stake

EMPOWERMENT group Brimstone Investment Corporation is angling for a bigger offshore catch at its core food division.

At the weekend, it proposed increasing its controlling stake in Sea Harvest and backing the hake-fishing specialist to grow a recent investment in a newly listed Australian associate.

Brimstone will push its stake in Sea Harvest from 58% to 85% after buying out fellow black economic empowerment investor Kagiso Strategic Investments in a R270m transaction.

This announcement coincided with Sea Harvest making shareholders in ASX-listed fishing group Mareterram a proportional cash offer to acquire one out of every two shares held. Sea Harvest took a strategic 19.9% stake in Mareterram ahead of its listing. If this offer is successful, its stake will grow to 59.6% and secure outright control of Mareterram. Sea Harvest’s offer is conditional on achieving a minimum 50.1% stake.

Market watchers said Brimstone’s plans for a bigger stake in Sea Harvest made sense, as the firm sought to build a strong food pillar in its investment portfolio.

Sea Harvest’s offer for Mareterram is at 35 Australian cents a share — about a 10% premium to the last traded price of the shares.