AKVA agrees US$615M takeover deal with Yanmar

NORWAY – AKVA group has agreed to a recommended voluntary cash offer from Yanmar Holdings for all its outstanding shares, valuing the aquaculture technology company at approximately NOK 5.9bn (US$615m).

Yanmar, through Norwegian entity Pontos Bidco AS, is offering NOK 161 (US$16.75) per AKVA share.

The offer represents a 57% premium to AKVA’s dividend-adjusted closing share price of NOK 102.5 (US$10.68) on 7 April 2026, before the company announced a strategic review.

AKVA’s board has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer. Shareholders representing approximately 92% of the company’s shares, excluding treasury shares, have already undertaken to tender their holdings, subject to customary conditions.

The transaction follows a strategic review AKVA launched in April to assess options for maximising shareholder value. 

The company said it subsequently held discussions with several interested parties before agreeing the transaction with Yanmar.

Combining aquaculture and industrial technology

Yanmar said the proposed acquisition would combine AKVA’s aquaculture expertise with its own technologies, global resources and long-term ownership approach.

The Japanese industrial group said the combination could strengthen its position as a technology partner to the global aquaculture industry and support the development of integrated solutions for sea-based and land-based fish farming.

AKVA provides technology and services designed to address biological and operational challenges in aquaculture, with solutions ranging from individual components to complete installations. 

Its portfolio covers fish farming operations, production technology and fish welfare.

The proposed acquisition comes as aquaculture producers increasingly adopt technology to improve production efficiency, monitor fish welfare and manage increasingly complex farming systems.

AKVA has recently expanded its digital offering with AKVA plan 5.0, a cloud-based production planning platform that combines biological production planning, scenario analysis and monitoring of planned and actual production.

The system lets production planners model changes in biomass, capacity, and harvest windows before adjusting production plans.

The platform builds on more than 25 years of experience with AKVA’s Fishtalk biological calculation engine and supports AI-assisted workflows, including natural-language planning, forecasting and risk identification.

Knut Nesse, CEO of AKVA group, said combining AKVA’s aquaculture expertise with Yanmar’s industrial capabilities, technology base and long-term ownership perspective could create value for customers and strengthen the company’s growth and innovation agenda.

Yanmar Executive Vice President Tetsuya Yamamoto said the companies could develop “next-generation integrated and technology-enabled solutions” for sea-based and land-based aquaculture operators.

If Yanmar acquires at least 90% of AKVA’s shares, it intends to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares and propose delisting AKVA from Euronext Oslo Børs.

The offer remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Barring unforeseen circumstances, completion is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

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