Andrew Forrest has said his initial bid for salmon farmer Huon was low for a reason.Credit:Trevor Collens
Mr Kearney also revealed that Mr Forrest’s investment vehicle Tattarang,which currently owns 18.5 per cent of Huon,had made a bid for the salmon farmer earlier this year which was far below the $3.85 a share offer currently on the table from JBS.
Tattarang was given the opportunity to submit a final offer for the business but did not do so,a move Mr Forrest said was due to “serious environmental concerns” factored into the company’s initial price.
“Tattarang had factored into its offer price several key environmental improvements that it strongly believes are absolutely necessary for sustainable and responsible salmon production,” he said. “The first of these is an end to salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour.”
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Tasmanian residents have been fighting against the location of salmon farms in the Macquarie Harbour for years. Between 2017-18,around 1.35 million salmon died from disease and oxygen depletion due to severe overstocking in the harbour.
“Tattarang wanted to remove the pens from Macquarie Harbour where they are environmentally destructive,and have caused deep upset to the local community,” Mr Forrest said. “Our offer was predicated on fixing the environment,focusing on production in deep water high current environments,or on land.”
Mr Forrest said Tattarang initially bought its 7 per cent stake in Huon to pressure management to move the pens.