Benchmark planning a £56.7m share buy-back and exit from stock markets
Aquaculture biotech and nutrition company Benchmark Holdings has announced plans to de-list from the stock market and buy back stock from shareholders following the sale of its genetics division to Denmark-headquartered life sciences investor Novo Holdings for £230 million.
Benchmark, which made gross proceeds of £194m from the sale, said that after the repayment of loans and other debts it currently has net cash reserves of £117m. It intends to pay £95m of that to shareholders through a combination of a £56.7m share buy-back and a special dividend for investors who choose to stick with the company when it goes private.
In a statement today, Benchmark said: “The Company has been assessing how best to return excess capital to shareholders and position the remaining operating businesses for future growth. Accordingly, the Company today announces a series of inter-conditional proposals.”
These are to:
- cancel the admissions to trading of the company’s Ordinary Shares on AIM (Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange) and Euronext Growth Oslo;
- re-register the company as a private limited company;
- make a Tender Offer to buy back nearly 23 million shares at 25p per share from qualifying shareholders for an aggregate amount of up to approximately £56.7 million; and
- provide shareholders that do not sell or who wish to continue as shareholders in a private limited company, the opportunity to remain invested and receive a planned special dividend.
Shareholders Kverva AS, the JNE Funds and FERD AS – that between them own 71% of Benchmark Holdings – have agreed not to take part in the buy-back offer.
All the proposals must be approved at a general meeting on June 18 before they can go ahead.
“Shareholders should note that, if the Tender Offer Resolution is approved at the General Meeting and all of the Shareholders other than the Concert Party (Kverva AS, the JNE Funds and FERD AS) were to tender their holdings of Ordinary Shares in full, the Concert Party would consolidate its control of the Company, potentially resulting in 100 per cent ownership,” wrote Benchmark.
Health and nutrition
The sale of the genetics division leaves Benchmark with two other business segments - Health, and Advanced Nutrition.
The Health division supplies the lice treatment Salmosan Vet (azamethiphos), used in Scotland, Norway, Faroe Islands, Canada, and in Chile, where it is marketed as Purisan. It also supplies Ectosan Vet (imidacloprid), currently licensed for use in Norway and the Faroe Islands. Ectosan Vet is designed for use in a closed system in conjunction with Benchmark's CleanTreat filtration technology that removes chemical residues from the treatment water before it is returned to the sea.
Treatment with Ectosan Vet has entailed using a wellboat for closed-loop treatment, plus a second vessel equipped with CleanTreat to filter the water. This proved too expensive, and last year the company paused delivery of Ectosan Vet and CleanTreat in order to develop a more economically viable land-based business model.
Land-based solution
"The strategy for Health is to maintain its position in sea lice medicinal treatments through Salmosan Vet and Purisan and to continue to develop the land-based infrastructure solution for Ectosan Vet and CleanTreat which if successful represents significant upside potential," Benchmark wrote.
Benchmark's Advanced Nutrition division supplies specialist nutrition for early stages of shrimp and fish production, and operates in the global market as INVE Aquaculture.
In its statement today, Benchmark said it intends announce results for the six months ended 31 March 2025 on 12 June 2025 and expects to report revenues of approximately £40.6m, reflecting a solid performance in Advanced Nutrition with an improvement in product mix and continuing good performance in Health, resulting in stronger Q2 2025 results.
