Cermaq ASA has received an offer of  NOK 6.2 billion for EWOS from investor group Altor and Bain Capital. Cermaq considers the offer to be worth 10 times the market consensus EBIT for EWOS in 2013 and sufficiently interesting for them to move forward towards a sale.

Cermaq said the offer is substantially higher than the implicit value of EWOS in the historical valuation of the Cermaq share, as well as in the recent offer from Marine Harvest, That offer was turned down by the Board and Cermaq has since been looking at alternative offers.

If this transaction goes ahead it will free up significant funds for Cermaq that will be used to reduce debt and allow the company to invest in its significant farming activities in Norway, Canada and Chile. It is expected that the sale of EWOS will help demonstrate the value of the farming operations. Cermaq said it supports a further consolidation of the farming industry in selected geographical areas and will consider various solutions to further develop the company\'s strong position.

The Board is aiming to convene an extraordinary general meeting to ensure that a binding agreement with the Investor Group can be completed in mid-July 2013. 

Based on the received offer the Board has reiterated its recommendation to the shareholders to not accept the present offer from Marine Harvest.