TM Software sells the seafood unit of Maritech
TM Software and AKVA Group ASA have signed a binding Letter of Intent for all the shares in TM Software - Maritech AS (formerly Maritech International AS) including the subsidiaries in Norway, Chile, UK and USA, and the assets of the seafood related businesses of TM Software - Maritech hf in Iceland and Maritech Software Inc. in Canada.
Through this acquisition TM Software will transfer all its software and hardware business related to seafood to AKVA group ASA. The acquisition is currently planned to be completed in February 2007 after the satisfactory completion of due diligence, the finalization of the necessary purchase agreements and the fulfilment of all other conditions to closing. Corporate and Investment Banking of Glitnir was TM Software’s consultant.
The purchase price for the entire enterprise value of the company is NOK 80 million, which includes both the assumption of interest bearing debt and the payment for the value of the equity. The purchase price shall be settled with a cash payment for the equity value on the closing date of the acquisition. The seafood business of Maritech, which AKVA group intends to acquire, has an estimated consolidated annual revenue in 2006 of approximately NOK 130 million.
According to Ágúst Einarsson, CEO of TM Software, the reason for the sale is that the company received a fine offer from a leading international company in the development of software for the seafood industry. “The sale enables TM Software to emphasise more on development and international expansion of software solutions for the healthcare industry as there are great possibilities of continuant growth of TM Software. We have already reach a good position in that field with powerful products and great knowledge. It is not without sorrow that we sell this part of our company and thereby products that we have been building for the past years but we realise that AKVA group will be a valid and proud owner.”
Mr. Einarsson says that this will not lead to termination of employments although some employers might be transferred to other units. Although there is change in the company’s ownership the costumers of Maritech will of course be serviced according to their contract.
The main software products of Maritech are WiseFish and WiseFarming, which are IT solutions for the seafood industry with the main focus on the harvesting, value-added processing, sales and distribution parts of the value chain. Many of the large seafood companies in the world use one or more of the software solutions provided by Maritech. Furthermore, Maritech is the exclusive distributor in Norway for Marel hf of Iceland for its fish processing solutions for the seafood industry.
By this acquisition AKVA group will become the leading provider of operational IT solutions for the seafood industry and merge the two leading software solutions: AKVA group’s FishTalk from the upstream part and Maritech’s Wisefish from the downstream part of the value chain.
