AKVA GROUP acquired by YANMAR

Yanmar Holdings agreed on 2 October 2026 to acquire AKVA group, the Oslo-listed Norwegian aquaculture technology supplier, through a recommended voluntary cash offer for all its shares, made by Pontos Bidco, a newly formed Norwegian company indirectly owned by Yanmar. The offer valued AKVA at an enterprise value of , an EV/EBITDA multiple of and an EV/revenue multiple of , for revenue of and an EBITDA of , an EBITDA margin of . The offer price represented a 57% premium to AKVA's closing price on 7 April 2026, the last trading day before the company announced a strategic review aimed at maximising shareholder value. That review, launched on 8 April, ended with Yanmar's offer, which AKVA's board recommended unanimously. Shareholders holding about 92% of the shares committed to accept, including the main owners, Egersund Group and Israel Corporation, as well as all board members and the executive management. Chief executive Knut Nesse said Yanmar had been the most proactive bidder in the process. The offer was conditional on Yanmar reaching at least 90% of the shares, after which it planned to buy out the remaining shareholders and delist AKVA from the Oslo Stock Exchange. Yanmar intended to keep AKVA as a separate legal entity and to make it the core platform of its aquaculture business, with a leading role in product development, describing the deal as a way to help AKVA scale with its industrial capabilities, global resources and long-term capital. Completion was expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.