Aquaria turns organic

AQL has signed a conditional agreement to acquire a privately held, New Zealand registered company called Organic Interceptor Products, which will produce organic products for agriculture, home and industry.

The acquisition cost for the Thames-based developer will be $5.15 million, made up of $275,000 in cash and the issue of 1950 million ordinary fully paid shares.

The transaction requires AQL Holdings having cash reserves of not less than $2 million prior to the settlement.

AQL says it intends to change its name to Certified Organics Limited.

"The new company will produce a range of leading edge products which meet international organic certification requirements for agriculture, home and industry," the company says in a statement.

"These products represent a range of safe alternatives to synthetic chemical products. The company plans to aggressively enter the rapidly expanding global market for organic products.

AQL says Organic Interceptor Products owns the world's first patented certified organic weed controller, and its products control weeds, moss, and lichen.

"One of the Organic Interceptor products has been shown to effectively control botrytis fungi, which will have widespread implications for grapes, kiwifruit and other crops."

The raw material for the product is extracted from pine trees and has been certified organic by organisations in both New Zealand and Australia.

Aquaria MD Ken Wikeley says the company is extremely excited about the propose acquisition.

"We have been investigating a number of business acquisitions for AQL Holdings, and we believe this is an excellent opportunity for shareholders, especially given the huge worldwide demand for organic products."

Mr Wikeley says there were other parties interested in buying the company and he's delighted the owners have chosen to do business with AQL.

A number of other organic products are already in the development stages including long term weed controllers, domestic and industrial cleaners, human hygiene and animal health products.

The CEO-designate for the new venture is Dr Earl Stevens, a biochemist by training, and there are plans to recruit a marketing and management team.

When the transaction proceeds the current AQL board will be replaced a new board with appropriate industry expertise.

A meeting to consider the proposed acquisition is planned for next month.

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