Norway-based Atlantic salmon smolt producer BioFish Holding has entered a transaction agreement which will see Atlantic salmon producer Langøylaks acquire all outstanding shares in the company.
BioFish, in an announcement made to the Oslo Børs, said it has reached an agreement to receive NOK 1.77 per share and NOK 0.47 per warrant, to be settled in a cash transaction. All told, the offer price represents a 45.1 percent premium on BioFish’s current share price and a total cash payment of roughly NOK 230 million (USD 22.6 million, EUR 20 million).
The move comes after the company initiated a strategic review in early 2025 to “explore growth opportunities” for the company and increase shareholder value. That strategic review, announced 13 January, 2025, ultimately found the sale would be beneficial to the company.
“The Board has conducted a thorough strategic review involving discussions with a wide range of stakeholders and has considered different offers from strategic and financial players,” BioFish Board Chair Thorbjørn Gjelsvik said in the Oslo Børs announcement. “The Board is confident that the Offer price represents a fair reflection of today’s values and believe Langøylaks will be good owners and partners for BioFish. We unanimously recommend that shareholders accept the proposed offer.”
The company said that 52.42 percent of shareholders and warrantholders of the company had already given pre-acceptances to accept the offer. BioFish said that includes some of its largest shareholders, including Awilco, Odfjell Land, Stoksund, and Biofish Aquafarms.
Langøylaks is a Norwegian salmon farmer based in the Austevoll area that has operated in the industry for over 45 years. A privately owned company, Langøylaks CEO Johannes Møgster said the acquisition will be beneficial for both the farmer and BioFish.
“After a comprehensive evaluation of BioFish, Langøylaks is confident that this partnership represents an excellent strategic fit. We see strong potential for mutual growth, with significant synergies across both production and expertise,” Møgster said. “This collaboration will strengthen both companies and create exciting opportunities moving forward.”
Both companies are located on the Western coast of Norway, which they said will be helpful in building scale. The acquisition by Langøylaks also means BioFish has become a member of the “Salmon Group,” a network for small and medium-sized fish farmers in Norway that was established in 2003, which it said will allow it to access more attractive purchasing agreements.
In turn, Langøylaks gains access to high-quality smolt and post-smolt produced by BioFish.
In its Q1 2025 results, BioFish said it secured several contracts in the period, increasing its order backlog for salmon smolt to 720 metric tons (MT) per year from 2025 through 2027. The company said it had strong biological performance in the period, and delivered revenue of NOK 34.5 million (USD 3.4 million, EUR 2.9 million), an EBITDA of NOK 11 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 950,000), and a net profit of NOK 5.7 million (USD 560,000, EUR 490,000).
"We have implemented several strategic and organizational improvements in 2024, and we are now seeing the first results, including positive cash flow and net profit,” BioFish CEO Sondre Johnsrud said. “We are optimistic about the coming year, with over two-thirds of the volume already sold, and we maintain a positive outlook on the long-term demand for post-smolt."
