Miami, Florida, U.S.A.-based Atlantic Sapphire has successfully raised USD 60 million (EUR 54 million) in an underwritten rights issuance its board approved in September.
In a release posted to the Oslo Børs, the company announced it received valid subscriptions for just over 5 billion shares in the company in a partially underwritten rights issue of a minimum of 5.26 billion new shares. An underwriting consortium had agreed to underwrite the subscriptions of new shares for the gross proceeds of USD 60 million.
The company – which is building an Atlantic salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility – said that the final allocation ended up being 5 billion shares to valid subscriptions received during the subscription period of the rights issuance and 1.4 billion shares to the underwriters. Existing shareholders Nordlaks Holding, Condire Management, Strawberry Capital, and other external investors all underwrote USD 60 million in August.
Alongside the share issuance, Atlantic Sapphire also secured a NOK 213.9 million (USD 19.9 million, EUR 18.2 million) convertible loan.
The board approved both the loan and the share issuance to secure the funds the company said it needs to achieve a positive EBITDA for its Phase 1 operations. The company has estimated it will reach that point in Q4 2025 – five years after it harvested its first batch of Atlantic salmon from its Miami-based RAS.
“The USD 60 million equity issue was fully guaranteed by a list of underwriters and is, in addition to a convertible loan of USD 20 million [EUR 18.2 million], the funding needed for Atlantic Sapphire to deliver an expected positive EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2025,” Atlantic Sapphire CFO and current Deputy CEO Gunnar Aasbo-Skinderhaug told SeafoodSource.
The successful funding round came after the company announced in a Q3 2024 trading update that it has successfully harvested 1,300 metric tons (MT) of head-on, gutted salmon in the quarter. That total is significantly higher than the 365 MT that the company harvested in Q3 2023 and up slightly from the 1,245 MT that it harvested in Q2 2024.
On top of the increased harvest, the company said that its biology is trending positive.
“During the third quarter, biological development progressed favorably with stable water quality and temperatures, low mortalities, and increased harvest weight throughout the quarter following the operational measures taken to increase harvest size,” the company said.
Average harvest weight increased steadily throughout the quarter, starting at 1.42 kilograms in July, increasing to 1.55 kilograms in August, and jumping to 2.19 kilograms in September.
“In addition, the company has adapted its biomass to current feeding volumes and expects further increased average harvest weight in the fourth quarter of 2024,” Atlantic Sapphire said.
The increased harvest and increased harvest weights are both positive signs compared to the same quarter of 2023.
Throughout 2023, the company grappled with warm water issues that caused it to miss its biomass targets, and while the company installed chillers to solve its temperature problems in October 2023, it still expected to miss production targets due to residual effects.
