Israeli investment company Israel Corporation (ILCO), which recently announced its 15 percent minority investment in Akva Group, said Tuesday it has acquired an additional 3 percent of the company, taking ILCO's total investment in the Norwegian aquaculture equipment heavyweight to 18 percent.
Following completion of the offer -- which is expected to be considered at an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday -- ILCO will hold just more than 6.6 million shares in Akva, representing 18 percent of the shares and votes.
Egersund Group will still hold the majority ownership.
The parties announced on Sept. 29 that ILCO was to acquire at least 15 percent of Akva.
The maximum number of shares acquired by ILCO could not exceed 19.99 percent, as per the initial agreements.
"The funds will be used for our innovation agenda, both in aquaculture on land and at sea, as well as RAS technology on the land side and the digital development agenda," Akva’s CEO Knut Nesse told IntraFish last month.
Akva and ILCO will also work towards establishing a platform for investments in land-based aquaculture facilities worldwide, using Akva technology and solutions.
The parties expect to contribute $10 million (€8.6 million) each to the platform or to land-based aquaculture projects worldwide, with the goal of raising further commitments from co-investors and partners to reach a total of up to $100 million (€86 million).
