Private equity fund Summa Equity, the parent company of value-added salmon company Milarex, has acquired aquaculture and fish health service provider STIM from its parent Nordly Holding for an undisclosed amount.
Nordly Holding is owned by STIM Chairman and Founder Jim-Roger Nordly, who announced in October 2023 that he had initiated the sale process for STIM. At the time Nordly predicted a H1 2024 closing date – which proved true with the 4 March announcement by Summa Equity.
STIM is the developer of the SuperSmolt FeedOnly smolt optimization system, with offices in Norway, Chile, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company was founded in 1988, and in 2023 it achieved a gross revenue of EUR 150 million (USD 162 million).
The goal of the acquisition is to expand STIM's growth beyond its current capacity, according to Nordly.
“I am convinced that Summa is the right strategic and long-term partner for us,” Nordly said in a release. “They recognize that our employees' expertise and efforts is the bedrock of this company. With Summa on our side, I am confident that STIM can become the world leader within sustainability and health, not just within the salmon industry, but for the seafood industry as a whole.”
Nordly said in October 2023 that the sale process is in the “best interest of the company,” as a means of expanding STIM.
Summa Equity Partner Martin Gjølme said STIM’s role as an aquaculture services provider fits with its goals as an “impact investor” focusing on resource efficiency, changing demographics, and tech-enabled transformation to solve global challenges.
“Aquaculture is one of the key building blocks in the sustainable food system of the future due to its low carbon footprint, scalability, and high feed efficiency. But as a young industry it faces challenges related to fish welfare and mortality,” Gjølme said in a release. “Solving these challenges through disease prevention, sound production protocols, genetics, and nutrition will be key to unlock the industry's full potential. STIM is ideally positioned to take the lead role in that transformation.”
In recent years, STIM won multiple legal victories defending the patent for its SuperSmolt FeedOnly, a feed designed to induce smoltification in salmon. The company also initiated a lawsuit against BioMar which saw the latter company ordered to pay a NOK 23 million (USD 2.1 million, EUR 2 million) fine before an appeal bumped the fine NOK 36 million (USD 3.4 million, EUR 3.1 million).
Gjølme and Summa Equity said STIM “remains well-positioned” on the aquaculture market thanks to its innovations like SuperSmolt Feed Only that improve fish health and profitability.
“We have followed STIM’s journey since the inception of Summa. STIM's expertise within fish health and biology is unparallelled, and with Summa’s long-term perspective and track record in the aquaculture industry, we are certain we can be a true partner to solving some of the largest challenges the industry is facing,” Gjølme said.
Carl-Erik Arnesen, who took over as STIM CEO in September 2023, said Summa Equity will help the company expand into new markets.
“That being said, my focus is always to maintain business as usual at STIM. Our priority is to deliver products, services, solutions, and advice that contribute to positive biological outcomes and growth for our customers,” he said.
