East 33 receives all-cash takeover offer from Yumbah Aquaculture

Australian oyster farmer East 33 (ASX: E33) has confirmed it has received an off-market takeover offer from unlisted company Yumbah Aquaculture.

The all-cash offer will see Yumbah acquire all of the shares in East 33 for $0.022 per share, after which East 33 will be delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange.

The offer price is believed to represent an “attractive premium” to East 33’s volume-weighted average price over the last 12 months and its last trading price on 2 August.

Independent recommendation

An independent board committee has unanimously recommended that East 33 shareholders vote in favour of Yumbah’s proposal, as it provides liquidity for shareholders in a stock that has had historically low trading volumes.

“There is a risk that, without additional capital being received in the form of equity or debt, East 33 will not have access to sufficient capital to meet its future funding requirements,” the committee said.

The proposal is subject to standard conditions including Yumbah obtaining a relevant interest in at least 90% of East 33’s shares.

Oyster operations

East 33 is Australia’s largest vertically-integrated producer, processor and supplier of Sydney rock oysters.

Its operations span all elements of the rock oyster industry from hatchery, nursery and farming to processing, e-commerce, the Shellar Door restaurant program and international trade.

East 33’s current operations are based in the Wallis Lake, Port Stephens and Manning River regions of New South Wales, managed by over 130 years of collective farming knowledge.

Yumbah – which in 2022 acquired a substantial shareholding in East 33 – is an unlisted public company owned and registered in Australia that manages a diverse portfolio of aquaculture projects and aims to invest in and develop projects in the sector.